Cameroon’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations title marks the most recent time they’ve won the prestigious trophy.
A third-placed finish between two round-of-16 exits is the best the Indomitable Lions have managed since. But nobody can question just how much of a giant they are on the African stage. Only Egypt (7) winning more than their five Afcon titles.
The craziest thing about the 2017 win was that it was with arguably one of Cameroon’s weakest squads in recent times. A collection of players struggling to make the grade at the top or only finding regular starts in lesser leagues managed to come from behind to beat an Egypt side containing the likes of Mo Salah, Mohamed Elneny, Trezegeut and Ahmed Elmohamady 2-1 in Libreville, Gabon.
But what happened to that eclectic mix of players after the final? Read on to find out.
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Fabrice Ondoa
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 29
The cousin of Andre Onana, Fabrice Ondoa was struggling to break through in Spain at the time of this final, playing just three games for Sevilla’s reserve team in La Liga 2 that season, having previously represented Barcelona at a similar level.
Ondoa moved to Belgian side Oostende at the end of the season, making 22 top-flight appearances, before embarking on a journeyman career that’s seen him play in Croatia, Latvia and France. He was most recently back in Latvia with FC RFS, with whom he won the domestic double in 2024, but he became a free agent in the summer. The 29-year-old also has 53 caps for Cameroon.
Collins Fai
- Position: Defender
- Age: 33
Collins Fai was the starting right-back for Standard Liege when this tournament came about. He went on to make 162 appearances for the club across all competitions, helping them win two Belgian Cups.
Since leaving Liege in 2022, Fai hasplayed for Al-Tal in the Saudi Pro League, Radnicki Nis in the Serbian top-flight and Sloboda Tuzla in Bosnia & Herzegovina — all to little success. However, the 33-year-old is a free agent after leaving the latter in the summer.
The last of Fai’s 56 international caps came in a 2-2 friendly draw against Mexico in the summer of 2023. But he was also an unused substitute in numerous World Cup and Afcon qualifiers throughout 2024 and early 2025.
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui
- Position: Defender
- Age: 34
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui was already a title winner in the Czech Republic with Slavia Prague by the time this tournament came around. The centre-back proved vital as he played every minute, helping Cameroon go unbeaten in a group containing Burkina Faso, hosts Gabon, and Guinea-Bissau, before beating Senegal and Ghana to reach the final.
Ngadeu-Ngadjui remains a regular for Cameroon even at 34, and now has 62 caps to his name. At club level, he’s played for KAA Gent and Chinese side BJ Guoan — winning the 2022 Belgian Cup with the former.
Adolphe Teikeu
- Position: Defender
- Age: 35
Adolphe Teikeu was forced off in the first half of the final due to injury, having played every minute of the tournament previously. The centre-back would only do another 18 months in the national team before ending his Cameroon career with 23 caps.
At club level, the 35-year-old was a true journeyman, playing in Ukraine, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey across his entire career. Most recently, he turned out for Caen in Ligue 2 before a brief spell with amateur side Saint-Brice FC.
Teikeu hasn’t officially retired, but he’s been without a club since the summer of 2024. So we can safely assume he’s hung up his boots.
Ambroise Oyongo
- Position: Defender
- Age: 34
Ambroise Oyongo was in Major League Soccer with Montreal Impact during this tournament, joining them in 2015 from New York Red Bulls.
The left-back’s performances in Montreal and Afcon earned him a move to Montpellier shortly after this tournament, and he went on to make 79 appearances at the highest level for La Paillade — a one-game loan at Russian side Krasnodar in 2021 thrown in for good measure. A 51-time international — last capped in 2022 — Oyongo now plays in the French third tier for Paris 13 Atletico.
Nicolas N’Koulou
- Position: Defender
- Age: 35
One of the highest profile players in the team, Nicolas N’Koulou was playing Champions League football with Lyon at the time of this final — having already represented fellow French giants Monaco and Marseille.
The left-back — who replaced Teikeu and went on to score the equaliser in the final — went on to represent Torino in Serie A before a journeyman end to his career with Watford, Aris Thessaloniki, Gaziantep and Sakaryaspor — or at least seemingly ending his career, with N’Koulou a free agent as of this summer.
With 83 caps, N’Koulou is sixth on the all-time appearance charts for Cameroon, with his last coming as captain in a friendly against Mexico in 2023.
Sebastien Siani
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 38
A short spell in the UAE between 2018 and 2020 with Al-Jazira and Ajman Club aside, Sebastien Siani spent his entire career in the top three divisions of Belgian football.
The midfielder was an Oostende player at the time of this final and would go on to play for Antwerp and RFC Knokke. Siani also went on to claim 28 caps for Cameroon, the last of which came as captain in a friendly against Burkina Faso just over a year after this final.
Arnaud Djoum
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 36
Like many in this side, Arnaud Djoum was a true journeyman. He was a Hearts player as of this final, having already played in Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey and Poland. He left Scotland in 2019 and went on to play for Al-Raed in Saudi Arabia, Apollon Limassol in Cyprus — winning a Cypriot league title — Dundee United back in Scotland, and Union-SG in Belgium.
Djoum managed 28 international caps, the last of which came in a friendly against Nigeria in 2021.
Jacques Zoua
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 34
A striker by trade, Jacques Zoua operated as an attacking midfielder in this final — one of 27 caps in which he failed to score and registered just one assist.
Zoua was a solid goalscorer in the 2. Bundesliga when he became an Afcon champion, but he would soon depart to play for Beerschot in Belgium, Astra Giurgiu and FC Viitorul in Romania, and Deauville in France — as well as spells in Cameroon, Kosovo and the UAE.
He’s been a free agent since the summer.
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Georges Mandjeck
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 36
Georges Mandjeck only came on in the final seconds of the final, but he’d clocked up 154 minutes prior to that to help Cameroon get there, including starting in the opening match against Burkina Faso. The midfielder dipped in and out of the national team after the tournament, before picking up a 53rd and final cap in a friendly against Uzbekistan in 2022.
Now 36, he’s been a free agent since the summer of 2024 after spells in France, the Czech Republic, Israel, Belgium, Turkey and Cyprus.
Christian Bassogog
- Position: Winger
- Age: 30
Christian Bassogog remains a regular on the international stage, clocking up 55 caps so far to the tune of seven goals and six assists.
The winger was playing for Aalborg at the time of the 2017 Afcon final, but soon left and has since played in China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia — including winning the Chinese FA Cup with Shanghai Shenhua in 2023.
Benjamin Moukandjo
- Position: Winger
- Age: 37
Benjamin Moukandjo had spent most of his career in France prior to the AFCON win, including as a goalscoring winger for Lorient at the time of his international triumph.
However, he left France shortly after, going on to play in China for Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Renhe. Moukandjo — a 57-time international — briefly returned to France with Lens and Valenciennes between 2020 and 2021, before ending his career with a short spell at Greek side Larissa.
Robert Ndip Tambe
- Position: Striker
- Age: 31
Robert Ndip Tambe has spent his entire career traversing some of football’s most interesting back alleys. The striker was an LZS Piotrowka player in Poland when he won AFCON, but would go on to play in Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, China and Kazakhstan.
This was the ninth of just 10 international caps for Tambe, who was withdrawn at half-time in the final and never scored a goal for his country.
Vincent Aboubakar
- Position: Striker
- Age: 33
Undoubtedly the star of this squad, Vincent Aboubakar’s international career hadn’t actually ignited at this point. In fact, he had started just one game at the tournament and hadn’t scored, with a patchy goalscoring record for Cameroon at best.
But the striker came on at half-time in the final and, just like fellow substitute N’Koulou, found the net to give Cameroon another historic title — inspired work from Belgian manager Hugo Broos.
Aboubakar’s career exploded from there, and now, aged 33, he sits second only to Samuel Eto’o in his country’s goalscoring charts with 45 goals (to Eto’o’s 56) and fourth for appearances (117).
At club level, Aboubakar was a clinical goalscorer and title winner for FC Porto and Besiktas, while he’s also turned out for Al-Nassr, Hatayspor and, now, Neftchi in Azerbaijan.