Cameroon's final 28-man roster for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was announced on Tuesday, and Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip was one of the noteworthy absentees.
Questions have been raised in recent months over Matip's prospective return to Antonio Conceicao's team, with African star Samuel Eto'o now in charge of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot).
Although he was born in Germany, the former Schalke 04 defender chose to play for his father's country of Cameroon in 2010.
Jean Matip, his father, and Marvin Matip, his cousin, were both former Cameroon internationals.
After an Afcon qualifying match between Cameroon and Gambia on September 6, 2015, the Liverpool star talked about several poor experiences with the technical staff. His last appearance for the Central African nation resulted in a 1-0 defeat, and he has not stated whether or not he intends to return.
The Cameroonian Football Federation despatched a delegation to Liverpool two years ago, before of the 2019 Afcon, in an attempt to persuade the defender to stop his self-imposed exile, but it appears to have failed.
Meanwhile, Matip's previous manager, Clarence Seedorf, kept the door open for him to return and promised not to persuade him to change his mind. Between 2010 and 2015, the 30-year-old appeared in 27 games for the Indomitable Lions, scoring his only goal for the country in a 4-1 loss to Brazil in the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
Despite his brief international career, Matip represented Cameroon in two World Cups, however he opted out of the 2010 and 2017 Afcon tournaments.
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