Onana chose to stay with United and wait to join the national squad until the day of the tournament last week, so he missed Cameroon’s AFCON opening.

In Cameroon’s second group match, the United goalkeeper was back in the starting lineup; nonetheless, he struggled as his team lost 3-1 against Senegal.

After that, head coach Rigobert Song decided to sideline him for Cameroon’s last Group C match against Gambia, starting Onana’s cousin Fabrice Ondoa for his second tournament start.

Per reports, Eto’o, the president of Cameroon’s Football Federation, and Onana got into an altercation before to the game because Onana was upset over being cut from the starting lineup.

A source close to the Cameroon team informed Sports News Africa, “It was Song who decided to change the goalkeepers and put Ondoa back as No. 1 following a meeting with players from the team.”

He didn’t know he wasn’t playing until this morning. He and Eto’o got into a verbal spat, but Eto’o did not answer him.

“Onana lost his cool on his own, but he eventually composed himself and stayed with the group to accept his fate.”

After defeating the Gambia 3-2, Cameroon secured the second place in Group C, ensuring a matchup with Nigeria in the round of 16 on Saturday.

Onana’s choice to arrive late to Cameroon’s team for their AFCON campaign has already drawn harsh criticism.

Emmanuel Adebayor, a former striker for Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester City, stated last week: “He [Onana] did not respect Cameroon.” Even though I was the star player in my lineup, I never behaved in this manner [showing up on game day]. I was a player just like him.

The fact that this is taking place indicates that there may be an issue within the federation.

“He faces a significant loss because he has strained relations with many African fans, Cameroonian supporters, and probably even some team members.”