The Man Utd games Andre Onana could miss due to 2023 AFCON
- Onana called up by Cameroon for tournament which starts in January
- Man Utd's goalkeeper had previously retired from the national team
- The 27-year-old is pushing for a late departure
Andre Onana has endured and enjoyed plenty of changes to his playing career during his first half-season at Manchester United.
UEFA's technical report of the 2023 Champions League final described the goalkeeper, then of Internazionale, as "less a sweeper-keeper than a holding midfielder". Such praise has been hard to come by during a testing adaptation to English football. Yet, when United signed the 27-year-old for £47m in July, they must also have been enticed by his lack of international commitment.
At the time, Onana had retired from international football after leaving Cameroon's camp before the group stages of the 2022 World Cup had concluded. Yet, Rigobert Song has appeared to patch things up with United's keeper and included Onana in his squad for the impending Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Here's everything you need to know about Onana's international future and how it may impinge upon his involvement for Manchester United.
Why did Andre Onana retire from international football?
Across the 12 months leading up to the World Cup in Qatar, Onana had started every competitive Cameroon fixture. The shot-stopper maintained this record for the 1-0 defeat to Switzerland in Cameroon's first group game but was dropped ahead of the meeting with Serbia by Song for "disciplinary reasons".
Onana took 26 touches outside his penalty area against Switzerland - more than striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting - and Song didn't care for this approach. "I know what I have to do," Cameroon's coach explained, "and that is to ensure that the team takes precedence over any individuals. Andre wanted to step out and we accepted that position. In a squad, discipline is important."
After flying home from Qatar early, joining the storied history of Cameroonian goalkeeper dramas, Onana announced his international retirement - and his "love for the national team".
"Players come and go, names are fleeting, but Cameroon comes before any player or person," he wrote.
Why has Andre Onana been recalled to the Cameroon national team?
With a straight face, Song recalled Onana ahead of the September international break and insisted: "There were never any problems. I said at the last [news] conference that it was all up to him and he knew what he had to do.
"If he is on the list, it is because he did the right thing. He is one of the best goalkeepers. The door was always open, it is better to have all these players there than not to have them."
In response, Onana delivered a cryptic social media post of the African proverb: "The lie bears flowers but not fruit." But it took the goalkeeper six days to confirm that he would accept his call-up. The delay somewhat undermined the "unshakeable certainty" that he claimed to be behind his return.
When is the 2023 AFCON?
To avoid clashing with European club competitions, the next AFCON was supposed to be held during the Northern Hemisphere's summer. Yet, various knock-on effects of the COVID-pandemic have nudged the 2023 tournament into 2024.
The continental jamboree begins with the first group game for the host nation, the Ivory Coast, on 13 January 2024. The 24-team competition will be wrapped up with a final in the country's national stadium on 11 February 2024.
Cameroon's campaign begins with a match against Guinea on 15 January. Four days after pitting his wits against a side boasting United target Serhou Guirassy, Onana's nation faces reigning champions Senegal (19 January) before concluding the group stage with a contest against Gambia on 23 January.
If Onana and Cameroon spend all four weeks on the southern coast of West Africa, United could play as many as seven matches without their first-choice goalkeeper.
The Man Utd games Andre Onana could miss due to the 2023 AFCON
Man Utd's Premier League games during the 2023 AFCON
Date / Kick-off Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
14/01/2024 - 16:30 | Man Utd vs Tottenham |
01/02/2024 - 20:15 | Wolves vs Man Utd |
04/02/2024 - 14:00 | Man Utd vs West Ham |
11/02/2024 - 16:30 | Aston Villa vs Man Utd |
The first Premier League goal Onana conceded was scored by Tottenham Hotspur's Pape Sarr - who, incidentally, could line up against Cameroon for Senegal at the Cup of Nations.
Onana is guaranteed to miss the rematch with Tottenham on 14 January, one day before Cameroon's first group game.
Cameroon would have to qualify for the quarter-finals - a feat the nation has achieved in nine of their previous 11 participations in the tournament - for Onana to be definitively unavailable for the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of February. A quarter-final exit would also likely rule Onana out of the visit from West Ham United on 4 February.
Even if Cameroon bow out in the round of 16 - which could take place anywhere between 27 and 29 January - it would be a tight squeeze for Onana to feature at Molineux.
Potential Man Utd FA Cup ties during the 2023 AFCON
Round | Date | Fixture |
|---|---|---|
Third round | 08/01/2024 - 20:15 | Wigan vs Man Utd |
Fourth round | 27/01/2024 | TBC |
Onana's relationship with the Cameroonian FA is still reportedly uneasy and United's first-choice keeper is thought to be keen on delaying his departure from Old Trafford for as long as possible.
United travel to the home of League One Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup on 8 January, the same night as Cameroon's scheduled friendly against Equatorial Guinea and one day before another tournament tune-up against Zambia.
Onana is said to be in talks with his national team to try and secure his availability for United against Wigan.
The 27-year-old definitely won't be available for any possible replay with Wigan and is also likely to miss the fourth round of the competition, which is scheduled for the weekend of 27 January, if United make it that far.
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