Cameroon closed in on Germany at the top of Group C with a comfortable 2-0 win over Korea Republic in Suez. It was a powerful and assured performance from the Junior Lions, who were rarely threatened by Asian opponents plainly lacking a cutting edge.
Alain Wabo's side might have won by a more handsome margin, in fact, had it not been for some wasteful finishing, with Brice Owuna setting the tone early on by blazing over after springing the South Korean offside trap. Nevertheless, Cameroon were soon in front, although their 19th-minute opener owed much to a goalkeeping catastrophe.
Andre Akono Effa's speculative shot from near the right certainly packed plenty of punch, but still looked to be a routine catch for Lee Bum Young until he somehow allowed the ball to slip through his grasp and into the net. Even at this early stage, it was clear that Korea Republic were in real trouble, and they should have found themselves two goals down just six minutes later.
Owuna was again able to race clean through, but although he had two team-mates waiting to tap the ball into the unguarded net, he delayed too long and enabled the South Koreans to intercept and clear behind for a corner. One wondered at this stage if Cameroon might live to regret that miss and they were certainly grateful to their goalkeeper for pushing away a goal-bound effort from left-back Yun Suk-Young as half-time approached.
However, the Africans' defence was troubled all too infrequently and it was no real surprise when substitute Germain Tiko doubled their advantage after 64 minutes. Cameroon captain Olivier Boumale delivered an inviting free-kick from the right and Tiko, who plays his club football for Real Majorca, nipped in to glance the ball home.
The Junior Lions were cruising now and they continued to carve out the better chances, with Lee forced to partially atone for his earlier error in pulling off a fine save to prevent Boumale rubbing salt in Korean wounds as the clock ticked down.
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