André Onana was supposed to be the hero of an unprecedented story. The Manchester United goalkeeper, less than 24 hours after the match between Manchester United and Tottenham, was scheduled to participate in his national team’s game in the Africa Cup of Nations. However, he ended up being left out.
The Cameroonian national team begins their continental tournament today against Guinea. Manchester United had arranged with the Cameroonian federation that Onana would join the squad at the last minute to be able to participate in the FA Cup match against Wigan and the Premier League match against Tottenham.
The goalkeeper did indeed play in those games, which ended in a draw (2-2). After that, a race against time began to make it in time for the Cameroon game today at 5:00 PM.
Pictures of the journey can be found online, but the plan ended up not working out. Onana flew to Ivory Coast, but due to adverse weather conditions, he couldn’t continue the journey and was grounded.
According to media reports, the goalkeeper decided to cover the remaining distance by car but couldn’t make it in time, missing the call-up for Cameroon’s opening game.