Manchester United goalkeeper faces fresh embarrassment as island nation deliver setback to World Cup bid

Andre Onana’s Cameroon have not been able to qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the CAF group stage and now face a series of make-or-break fixtures if they are to make the tournament.

The Manchester United goalkeeper is currently out on loan at Turkish club Trabzonspor after losing his place as Old Trafford No.1 to Altay Bayindir.

Onana featured in Man United’s somewhat embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Grimsby Town back in August and was culpable for the team’s concessions in normal time, before being eliminated on penalties.

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Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana in World Cup blow

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana (Image credit: Getty Images)

The fixture at Blundell Park could prove to be Onana’s last in a Man United shirt but it has proven not to be his final disappointment at such an early stage of the 2025/26 campaign.

Cameroon finished second in their qualifying group, four points behind winners Cape Verde. The island nation of approximately 500,000 people booked their place at a first-ever FIFA World Cup Finals with a 3-0 win over Eswatini while Cameroon drew versus Angola on Monday evening.

The goalkeeper now faces a play-off system contested by the four best-performing second-place teams from the CAF qualifying stage.

The highest ranking team of the four plays the lowest-ranked nation, while the second and third-ranked sides face each other. The winner of each semi-final will then play one another to determine who becomes the sole CAF representative in the inter-confederation play-off.

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If Cameroon are successful in the CAF play-offs during November, FIFA’s inter-confederation play-off will pit them against teams from CONMEBOL (South America), CONCACAF (North America), OFC (Oceania) and AFC (Asia).

This qualifying tournament will be hosted in Mexico during March 2026, in which two of the six competing countries will progress to the 2026 World Cup. The two highest ranking countries at the beginning of the play-off tournament will be seeded and automatically progress to one of the two finals, which decide who qualifies.

Andre Onana is currently on loan at Trabzonspor (Image credit: Getty Images)

In all, Cameroon could face up to four more high-stakes matches (2 x CAF; 2 x inter-confederation) to book their place at next year’s World Cup. CAF group-mates Cape Verde, meanwhile, have already begun celebrating an historic qualification campaign and achievement. Cape Verde’s population is approximately 58 times smaller than that of Cameroon.

If the Indomitable Lions do not qualify for the 48-team tournament, it will be only their third such failing since 1986, having participated at Italia ‘90, USA ‘94, France ‘98, Korea-Japan 2002, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022.

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