Promising central defender of Rennes, Christopher Wooh is one of the greatest hopes in Cameroonian football. At 23, he dreams of following in the footsteps of Rigobert Song, a central defender like him. With RFI, during a meeting initiated by the Professional Football League, the Indomitable spoke freshly about his current affairs in Rennes, about Samuel Eto’o and of course about the more assertive ambitions of the selection than ever before. Cameroonian.
From our special correspondent in Rennes,
RFI : Your Rennes club hosts Saint-Étienne this Saturday (4 p.m. UT). Do you feel a certain pressure on this match after a complicated start to the season and a 15th place in the Ligue 1 standings? ?
Christopher Wooh : Yes, obviously, because we need points urgently. But we are working well, I feel that the group has regained some of its form and its desire, so I think it will do well for this weekend. Anyway, I hope so.
You changed coaches with the replacement of Julien Stéphan by Jorge Sampaoli. We talk a lot about the Argentinian’s character. What impression has he made on you since his arrival? ?
He is a coach who has a lot of desire, who transmits it in training, in talks, in matches, so obviously we want to put in the intensity. He is very positive, he wants to play well, to keep the ball, so it’s the game that everyone would like to play. With him, I already did a video review just after returning to the selection, we talked a little about how to play without the ball and with the ball. It was very enriching. I try to build on that to continue to progress.
You are a central defender, and you often cite Clément Lenglet (French international loaned to Atlético Madrid by FC Barcelona) as a reference. How are you like yourself, or how do you need to improve to get to the level he is at? ?
Already, we are similar in terms of our background because we played in the same Chantilly club. And then, we were trained at AS Nancy. And what I like about him is his technical quality. I think I have to improve on that, on his controls and his passes that break the lines. He is very efficient at this level. Then, I admire his career. He still played for Barça, he played for the French team and now he is at Atlético. So this is an example to follow. In my position, I also admire Real Madrid’s Rudiger for his mentality and his desire to always want ” eat » his opponent. But today, for me, the best current defender in the world is William Saliba (Arsenal). In his serenity, in his concentration and above all in his ability to repeat good matches.
Let’s talk about the Cameroonian selection, you joined it in 2022. You could also have played for the France team. What motivated you to wear the Indomitable Lions jersey? ?
Since I was little, I saw my parents watching all the Cameroon matches and I always paid special attention when Cameroon played, and France too. But it’s true that during Cameroon’s matches, I always had this excitement of wanting them to win. And I always said to myself, with my father, that if one day I had the choice, I was going to choose Cameroon. So as soon as the opportunity presented itself, especially when President Samuel Eto’o came to my house to ask me, I did not hesitate. I said yes directly and I don’t regret it.
What are we like when we are faced with Samuel Eto’o who speaks to convince you to join Cameroon ?
It’s true that when he told me that he was going to move to Lens, I didn’t really believe it, frankly. Until one day he arrived and I met him. It made me strange to see him because as Cameroonians, he is our national figure. And to see him talking to me, being in front of me, it was impressive. Usually I see him on TV, and suddenly he’s in front of me. He has this ability to convince players, his career speaks for him, and he also has ambition for the national team.
At that time, there was also Rigobert Song as coach. Having Eto’o as president and Song as coach must have been impressive…
Especially since Rigobert Song has evolved in my position. He was truly the national figure in that position, “ world number 4 » as they say in the country. He’s a great figure. He has this character trait that makes him passionate. He makes you want – like our current coach at Rennes – to want to fight for him and I am grateful for what he has done for me. I signed immediately to have the same career as him, especially his selections (137) for the Cameroon team and all the World Cups he played (four: 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010).
Cameroon completed the CAN 2025 qualifiers without the slightest defeat (four wins, two draws). It was not won with the crisis between the Federation and the ministry. How did you manage this tension within the team during matches? ?
Since the new coach (Marc Brys) arrived, there have been a lot of misunderstandings, I would say. It was complicated, but frankly, I would like to congratulate the whole team because despite that, we worked well, played well. Above all, we have found a playing identity that resembles us and frankly, I enjoy playing for the Cameroon selection. I think we can do great things if we continue like this.
However, Cameroon, considered an African giant, has not reached the semi-final of the CAN since 2017. How do you explain this downgrading? ?
Already, I think there has been the emergence of many new nations which are very successful. Today, the big teams like Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Morocco are strong. And there are other teams that are less in the spotlight like Burkina Faso or even the Comoros who are doing a good job. All the teams have their identity and there are really no more small teams as we saw during the last CAN. Afterwards, it’s true that there have been a lot of changes in Cameroon, but since the last CAN qualifiers and the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, we have found some great football. And I think that great Cameroon will come back to the forefront.
Cameroon wins, but do you continue to see fear in the eyes of your opponents like at one time? ?
Yes, for me, we are always scary because of our history and because of the historic matches we have played. Even when we are behind, our opponents know that they are not safe from a comeback. Even at 0-2 or 0-3, Cameroon is still there to fight until the end of the match. There is always this history of Cameroon which imposes a little fear on the adversaries.
The CAN is in a year. How you see it ? Which teams could thwart Cameroon’s ambitions ?
As I said, since the new coach arrived, we have had very good performances. Good results and good content too. We were able to find a good identity, a very good group that lives very well together. If we continue like this – we know that football moves quickly, so in one year everything can change – but if we continue like this, I think we can go very, very far in this CAN. There will be no big favorites, perhaps Morocco which is at home and Ivory Coast which is the title holder.