Cameroon looking to avoid equalling unwanted World Cup record in Serbia clash

Cameroon will be looking to avoid equalling an unwanted World Cup record when they take on Serbia in their second Group G fixture on Monday.

The Indomitable Lions were condemned to a slender 1-0 defeat against Switzerland in their opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, with Cameroon-born striker Breel Embolo settling the contest with a second-half strike.

Rigobert Song's men now face an uphill task in their quest to progress to the knockout rounds for just the second time in their history, after doing so back in 1990 when they reached the quarter-finals.

Cameroon have struggled at the World Cup since the turn of the century and Thursday's defeat against Switzerland extended their losing streak at the finals to eight matches.

The Indomitable Lions previously lost their final group game at the 2002 World Cup, before losing all three group matches at the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.

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Should Cameroon suffer another defeat on Monday, they will equal the longest-ever losing run by a nation at the World Cup set by Mexico (nine) between 1930 and 1958.

The African outfit have never faced Serbia in a competitive fixture before, and their only previous meeting was in 2010 when they lost 4-3 in a friendly encounter.

At the World Cup, Cameroon are winless in their last 12 games against European opposition and a 2-1 victory over Romania in 1990 represents their only win in 15 attempts against sides from Europe.

In addition, goals have been hard to come by for Cameroon at the World Cup, and they are currently averaging just 0.8 goals per match, the lowest goal-to-game ratio of any nation to play at least 20 matches on the biggest international stage.

Serbia's defensive record bodes well for Cameroon, though, as the Eagles have conceded in eight of their last 10 World Cup fixtures and they also conceded in all eight UEFA qualifiers despite finishing at the top of their group.