Why is André Onana playing for Manchester United against Spurs and not Cameroon at AFCON 2023?

Managers across Europe and beyond have started feeling the effects of some of their star players jetting off to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup (both confusingly played in 2024). Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen have left Liverpool and Napoli with perhaps the biggest gaps to fill, but Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana remains at Old Trafford and started the Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur despite being selected for AFCON 2023 for Cameroon.

The 27-year-old, who has had a difficult start to life in England and doesn’t want to risk losing his place in the team, had initially hoped to play for United against Spurs on Sunday and travel out to Ivory Coast for The Indomitable Lions’ first game of the tournament against Guinea only 24 hours later. However, it has been decided Onana will be excused from playing for his country on Monday and there are now suggestions he may not feature in the competition at all, the latest twist in his turbulent international career.

Onana sent home from 2022 FIFA World Cup

After making his debut for Cameroon at the age of 20 in September 2016, the former Inter keeper was first choice between the sticks by the time the 2022 FIFA World Cup got underway. Onana started the first game of the tournament against Switzerland but was dropped for the second by coach Rigobert Song, who later sent him home for questioning his tactics.

United goalkeeper comes back out of international retirement

That prompted the former Barcelona academy product to retire from international soccer following the conclusion of the World Cup in December 2022, a decision he later reversed in August last year. Onana has started four games for Cameroon since then but it remains to be seen what the future holds for him given his apparent preference to play for club over country.

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