Cameroon put a desperate World Cup behind them, kicking off their African Nations Cup campaign on Saturday with goals from debutant Clinton Njie and lead striker Vincent Aboubakar in a 2-0 away victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cameroon lost all three matches in Brazil, where the team were embroiled in controversy over bonus payments and accused of match fixing and where players clashed on the pitch.
But with four new caps, including teenaged goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoua, the side made a winning start to their Group D qualifying campaign at the TP Mazembe Stadium.
Njie, with just a handful of games at Olympique Lyonnaise to his name, was among the new players and capped a strong first- half performance when he beat advancing goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba to the ball to score just before the interval.
Aboubakar added the second eight minutes from time with a stinging shot after cutting inside two defenders.
Stephane Mbia, who played left back, produced a captain's performance in defence having taken the armband from Samuel Eto'o, who announced his international retirement last month.
The win will come as a relief to coach Volker Finke, who had several players pull out before the match, was without suspended Alex Song, and took a gamble in goal on 18-year-old Ondoua of Barcelona's junior team. The teenager made several confident stops to keep a clean sheet.
Ivory Coast play Sierra Leone in Abidjan late on Saturday in the other group game. Cameroon host the Ivorians in Yaounde on Wednesday.
