Cameroon coach, Martin Ndtoungou was at a loss after his players were unable to convert any of their penalty kicks in their round of 16 match against Mexico at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.

Mexico have set up a quarter-final meeting with host nation Colombia after edging past Cameroon on penalties.

The Mexicans won the shoot-out in emphatic fashion with three unanswered spot kicks, after slowly taking a stranglehold on the match as a hard-fought contest went into extra time.

Mexico’s Erick Torres, Ulises Davila and Marvin Pinon converted their penalties, while it was disaster for Cameroon’s Franck Ohandza, Idriss Nguessi and Christ Mbondi who all failed to score.

Coach Ndtoungou confessed that the team had prepared hard for penalties in their preparations for the game.
“We worked on penalties in training nearly every day, but it’s always different in the heat of a match. My lads lost their way: that’s the only explanation I can give for not scoring any spot-kicks, because physically we were still fine.

“It was a well-contested match and was difficult for both sides. We lost it on penalties. At the end of the match you need to look at the team’s overall performance, without focusing on individual players. Were they positive enough in such a difficult match? Yes, my team fought hard and tried to win the game.

“It could have gone either way and the two teams deserve congratulations for their courage, their determination and the show they gave the spectators. I hope the tournament’s upcoming matches are of as high a standard as this one. After we scored our goal, our defenders switched off for a bit and didn’t read the situation very well, which is why we conceded (the equaliser)”

Speaking later, Mexico’s coach, Juan Carlos Chavez, said that his players have shown that they have the character to stand up to any opposition in the tournament, after their hard-fought win against the Cameroonians.

“We’ve come through a very difficult match and, before you mention the game against Colombia, I’d like to say one thing to you: this Mexican team have shown they’ve got enough character to stand up to any opponents. Jose Rodriguez had a great match, particularly during the shoot-out.

“You don’t get many clear goalscoring opportunities at a World Cup, and we weren’t able to put away the few that came our way. So, penalties were needed and they went in our favour. Before anything else, we need to get some rest.

“After that we’ll start thinking about Colombia, who also had a tough game. It’ll be a very tricky game but it’s still 11 versus 11, having 50,000 behind them in the stadium won’t make much difference. The teams know each other well, and they’re a good side – particularly on home soil. But I’m confident Mexico can show their character once more.”