Cameroon announced their final 28-man squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday and Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip is one of the notable omissions.
Over the past few months, questions have been raised over Matip's possible return to Antonio Conceicao's team with African legend Samuel Eto'o now at the helm of affairs of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot).
The former Schalke 04 defender was born in Germany but he opted to play for his father's country, Cameroon in 2010.
His father, Jean Matip and cousin, Marvin Matip were former Cameroon internationals.
Why did Matip not make Cameroon’s Afcon squad?
The Liverpool star complained of some bad experiences with the technical staff after an Afcon qualifying match between Cameroon and Gambia on September 6, 2015. The encounter that ended 1-0 was his last outing for the Central African nation and he has not announced any plans to return to the national team.
Did Fecafoot make any move for Matip’s return?
The Cameroonian Football Federation sent a delegation to Liverpool two years ago before the 2019 Afcon to convince the defender to end his self-imposed exile but it apparently did not bear any fruits.
Meanwhile, former manager Clarence Seedorf left the door open for Matip's return and vowed not to beg him to make a U-turn.
How many games did Matip play for Cameroon?
The 30-year-old played 27 games for the Indomitable Lions between 2010 and 2015, and his only goal for the country was at the 2014 Fifa World Cup where he scored the only goal in their 4-1 defeat to Brazil.
Despite his short international stint, Matip played in two World Cups with Cameroon but he declined to feature in the 2010 and 2017 editions of the Afcon.
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