Mbeumo faces double Cameroon challenge at AFCON
Bryan Mbeumo, the Manchester United forward, has to deal with the dual pressures of finding the back of the net and leading as captain while representing Cameroon at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco during this month.
Experienced forward Vincent Aboubakar has been unexpectedly dropped, placing the goalscoring burden squarely on the 26-year-old, who joined Old Trafford from Brentford in July last year.
The Indomitable Lions have struggled to score recently, drawing blanks in two vital 2026 World Cup qualifying games.
Two months back, needing a win at home against Angola to keep automatic qualification hopes alive, Cameroon could only manage a goalless stalemate.
Offered another opportunity a month later via a play-off as one of the top four African group runners-up, they lost 1-0 to the Democratic Republic of Congo and were knocked out.
Fans of Cameroon, who remember the glory days of forwards like Roger Milla, Patrick Mboma and Samuel Eto'o, found it tough to swallow back-to-back failures to score.
Mbeumo featured from the start in those fixtures, yet limited supply from midfield and close defending left him with few chances to shine.
Aboubakar topped the scoring charts with eight goals at the 2022 AFCON, where hosts Cameroon took bronze, trailing Senegal and Egypt.
That haul stood out in the contemporary history of Africa's flagship football event, falling just short of the 1974 benchmark set by Congolese player Ndaye Mulamba.
However, Mbeumo loses a possible vital attacking ally after Cameroon's new manager David Pagou left Aboubakar out of the squad heading to Morocco.
Low morale
We aimed to approach things in a fresh way. They are talented, but we focused on different players to build a new attitude, explained Pagou, alluding to Aboubakar and keeper Andre Onana.
As Mbeumo hunts for goals in Group F clashes with Gabon, reigning champions Ivory Coast and Mozambique, he also steps up to replace Aboubakar as team leader.
He needs to rally a squad hit by low spirits following their miss on World Cup spots for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Cameroon boasts Africa's most World Cup outings with eight. Being edged out by Group D toppers Cape Verde, a small west African island nation of only 525,000 people, stung deeply.
Mbeumo entered the world in eastern France to a Cameroonian dad and French mum, qualifying him for both nations.
He turned out for France's youth teams before opting for Cameroon internationally. His standout moment with the Indomitable Lions came at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
On the club scene, he had a year at Troyes in France, followed by six at Brentford, aiding the London side's rise to the Premier League.
He linked well in attack with Democratic Republic of Congo flyer Yoane Wissa at Brentford, both netting in the same game six times over the previous campaign.
That achievement echoed only by Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo in the 2024-25 Premier League season.
Mbeumo has notched six strikes for United this term, including two in a 4-2 win at home versus Brighton.