World Cup (Q): Christian Kofane misses out on Cameroon call

Rising Bayer Leverkusen talent Christian Kofane will not be with the Cameroon national team for their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff from the African region this week. The Indomitable Lions will face DR Congo on Thursday in a semifinal clash, where the winner will face either Gabon or Nigeria in the final for a place in the inter-continental playoff tournament next March in Mexico.

¡Kofane se estrena! 😍

⌚️ 17′ | #B04Pisa (2-0)#SomosBayer04 🖤❤️ pic.twitter.com/gsSSUcV1rO

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_es) August 5, 2025

According to German site Kicker, the 19-year-old striker was initially called into the Indomitable Lions with Bayer Leverkusen’s website announcing the development. However, Kofane’s agent confirmed that the player will not join up with the Lions and will continue to focus on his promising start to life with the Bundesliga side.

Reports indicate that the call of Kofane was mixed into the ongoing politics around the Cameroon team involving coach Marc Brys and Cameroonian Football Federation president Samuel Eto’o. Brys apparently called in Kofane, but due to administrative complications surrounding the Belgian coach’s refusal to come to Yaoundé for the announcement of his list of players, Kofane was left out.

Toulouse forward Frank Magri has been called after one of the initial players called in, Dany Namaso, suffered an injury over the weekend.

But as Kicker reports, the confusing situation around Kofane’s initial call stems from the feud between Brys and Eto’o as seen in the announcement process regarding the squad. Hasty corrections and confusion dominated the news around the list of players and it appears that Kofane has elected to keep his distance in the meantime.

Eto’o has made extensive efforts to land the commitment of the talented young forward, who has 4 goals and an assist in his first 15 matches with Leverkusen. The former Barcelona and Inter Milan legend was in the stands for Leverkusen’s UEFA Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain and apparently has made progress with his recruitment attempts.

For now, with an already talented an experienced corps of forwards in the Lions setup, Kofane will elect to bide his time and focus on continuing his rapid growth with the Bundesliga giants.