International Friendly Preview: Macedonia v Cameroon

Cameroon step up their FIFA World Cup preparations with a friendly against Macedonia in Austria on Monday.

Brazil 2014 will be Cameroon’s seventh appearance at a finals and they will hope to come through their friendly without any injuries as they dream of a second appearance in the knockout stages.

Only in 1990 have the African nation progressed beyond the group stages and they failed to claim a point in South Africa four years ago, but 2014 gives them a chance to put that disappointment behind them.

Victory over Tunisia secured their place in the finals and made sure they remain Africa’s most successful nation in terms of appearances on the biggest stage of all with seven.

Cameroon meet their European opponents after spending the previous week in Austria at a training camp, with further fixtures against Paraguay, Germany and Moldova to come before heading to South America.

The match in Kufstein is the first of four friendlies Cameroon have organised ahead of the finals and sees them entertain a side they have only met once before, a match that ended 1-0 to the African side in Skopje in September 2011.

Macedonia finished bottom of their World Cup qualifying group with seven points from 10 games, but have won three of their last six matches – beating Bulgaria, Wales and Latvia.

Cameroon head coach Volker Finke will only get to see all 28 players in his provisional squad after this game, and once Benoit Assou-Ekotto has played in the Championship play-off final for Queens Park Rangers against Derby County on Saturday.

The German coach has won four of his 11 games in charge of the national team since taking over last May and his side have only lost once in their last five matches.

For Macedonia the game is a chance to begin their preparations for the European Championship qualifiers in September, when they face a daunting group which includes Spain and Ukraine.

Cameroon face Mexico in their Group A opener at Estadio das Dunas in Natal on June 13.before facing Croatia and then hosts Brazil