Onana paid the price for Cameroon ‘misunderstanding’ – Inzaghi

The
26-year-old
Nerazzurri
goalkeeper
was
dropped
for
his
country’s
second
group
game
against
Serbia,
subsequently
leaving
Qatar
before
their
final
game
against
Brazil.

Onana
issued
a
statement
in
the
wake
of
his
shock
demotion,
which
Cameroon
team
officials
put
down
to
undisclosed
“disciplinary
reasons”.

Reports
suggested
Onana’s
omission
came
after
a
disagreement
with
boss
Rigobert
Song
over
his
playing
style
in
the
1-0
loss
against
Switzerland,
when
he
had
the
most
touches
outside
the
box
by
a
goalkeeper
ever
recorded
in
a
World
Cup
match
(26).

Inzaghi
has
spoken
to
Onana
since
his
departure
and
does
not
believe
he
has
been
affected
by
the
situation.

“I’ve
spoken
to
all
the
guys
involved
in
the
World
Cup,”
he
said.
“We
have
four
who
made
it
to
the
quarter-finals.

“Romelu
Lukaku
and
Onana
are
out;
they
will
arrive
between
Friday
and
Saturday
and
join
the
group.
Physically
they
are
all
fine,
we
are
expecting
them.

“There
was
a
misunderstanding
that
he
[Onana]
paid
for,
but
I
spoke
to
him
and
he
is
calm.

“I
can
talk
about
what
happened
at
Inter.
He’s
a
positive
guy;
when
he
had
to
be
on
the
bench
he
stayed
there,
when
he
had
to
play
he
played.

“On
Friday
he’ll
be
in
Appiano
and
will
start
working
with
us.”

Inzaghi
also
had
his
say
on
Lukaku,
who
endured
a
torrid
time
as
Belgium
crashed
out
in
the
group
stage
with
a
0-0
draw
against
Croatia
in
their
final
game.

The
Inter
striker
was
brought
on
at
half-time
by
Red
Devils
boss
Roberto
Martinez,
but
conspired
to
miss
a
host
of
wonderful
chances
to
win
the
game
for
his
side.

“Clearly
he
was
disappointed,”
Inzaghi
added.
“It’s
a
World
Cup
and
he
cares
so
much
about
his
national
team.

“He
played
45
minutes
and
he
had
three
chances.
If
you
are
getting
the
chances,
a
striker
has
to
stay
calm.”

Inter
return
to
Serie
A
action
on
January
4
against
Napoli,
but
have
friendlies
against
Salzburg,
Real
Betis,
Reggina
and
Sassuolo
before
then.