Despite being the first African team to defeat Brazil during the tournament, Cameroon was eliminated from Group G, and after their first two World Cup performances, Rigobert Song voiced sadness.

In order to have any chance of joining the pre-tournament favorites in the round of 16, Cameroon needed to defeat them on Friday.

They did it in thrilling fashion thanks to a goal from Vincent Aboubakar in stoppage time, which he celebrated by taking off his shirt.

However, Murat Yakin's team finished two points ahead of Cameroon thanks to Switzerland's stunning 3-2 victory against Serbia, sending them home after the World Cup's group stage for the sixth time in a row.

By breaking Brazil's unblemished World Cup record against African teams (previously played seven, won seven), the Indomitable Lions at least left on a good note, but Song believed Cameroon might have done better.

"I didn't even realise that this was such a historic victory. We are one of the African countries who have played more World Cups than most, and now we've beaten Brazil," Song said.

"My players deserve to be congratulated. They showed tonight they could have done better in the first two games [a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland and a 3-3 draw with Serbia].

"I think we do have a feeling of regret. Now we realise we could have done better. But we need to look on the positive side as well.

"I'm trying to get across a team spirit, that lion's spirit, which needs to be the key to Cameroon teams.

"We realise now we could have done better in this tournament. We're a young team and today we've seen our young team getting stronger and stronger."

Cameroon began 2022 by finishing third at the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, and with just over a year to prepare for the next edition of that tournament – which was pushed back to January 2024 due to weather concerns in Ivory Coast, Song is backing them to improve further.

"There's another tournament in 2024 and we've built up some momentum now," Song added.

"I'm satisfied with tonight's performance. I took over the national team not too long ago and I think we are progressing and improving, so I'm proud of this team."