Moukandjo shoulders Cameroun hopes

Benjamin Moukandjo insists he feels no pressure taking over the Cameroun captaincy as the forward prepares to lead a diminished squad into the Africa Cup of Nations this weekend.

The 28-year-old striker with French Ligue 1 strugglers Lorient was handed the armband by the Indomitable Lions’ coach Hugo Broos and has since seen established stars such as Liverpool defender Joel Matip and Schalke striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting choose to dodge the tournament in Gabon.

Now Moukandjo finds himself as one of only a handful of players based in Europe’s leading leagues to be in the Cameroun squad as they look to improve on a dismal recent record in the tournament.

“I am proud, but it doesn’t really change things,” Moukandjo recently told reporters of becoming captain.

“There is no extra pressure. Of course it comes with responsibility. There are five or six potential captains in the team and we all try to communicate with one another.”

Moukandjo played a part in Cameroun’s ill-fated adventure at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and scored once as Cameroun made an early exit from the last Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea two years ago.

He has since turned into one of the most consistent goal-scorers in France’s top flight, with 20 goals in 36 league appearances for Lorient since the beginning of last season.