International Friendly Preview: Cameroon v Paraguay

Cameroon continue their preparations for the FIFA World Cup against Paraguay boosted by the news that Pierre Webo’s injury is not serious.

Volker Finke’s men produced a decent performance to earn a 2-0 win over Macedonia in Austria on Monday as they build towards the World Cup, which they begin against Mexico on June 13.

Webo was on target with an acrobatic opener in the second half, but injured his shoulder in the act of scoring, placing his participation at the tournament into doubt.

However, the Fenerbahce striker has since allayed fears over his fitness, taking to social networking site Twitter to reveal that medical examinations had shown that his injury is nothing severe.

That will be welcome news for a Cameroon side that faces a tough World Cup group having been drawn alongside hosts and favourites Brazil, Croatia and Mexico in Group A in their quest to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time since 1990.

Cameroon’s provisional 28-man squad has to be cut to 23 by June 2, meaning that plenty of players will be eager to make an impression and ensure a place on the plane to South America.

And there should be plenty of opportunities to catch the eye against a Paraguay team that is on a miserable run of form.

Indeed, Paraguay have won just one of their last nine games and failed to qualify for the World Cup, finishing bottom of the CONMEBOL group after taking a mere 12 points from 16 games.

That performance represented a dramatic slide in form for a footballing nation that reached the quarter-finals at the last World Cup in South Africa four years ago.

The focus for Paraguay will be on working towards the 2015 Copa America, which takes place in Chile next June, as they bid to win the title for only the third time.

Paraguay coach Victor Genes has picked a youthful squad for this clash and an encounter with France on June 1, with nine of the 21-man group aged 23 or under.

Malaga striker Roque Santa Cruz is set to captain the side, and will hope to provide the Cameroon defence with a stern test as the African outfit try to build momentum ahead of a challenging World Cup campaign.