With a talented squad led by Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon is setting its sights on the World Cup quarterfinals to match the feats of the nation's great 1990 team.

Cameroon took the football world by storm 20 years ago at the World Cup in Italy, where the Africans upset defending champion Argentina 1-0 in their opener before eventually losing to England in the quarterfinals after an extra-time goal.

The 1990 performance was one of the best by an African team at a World Cup, matched only by Senegal in 2002.

"My ambition is to go as far as possible, and perhaps equal the glorious 90s, which everybody talks about," coach Paul Le Guen said. "We definitely want to be up to that level."

Cameroon has never regained the form of its 1990 squad, failing to make it out of the group stage at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 tournaments. It did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

But Cameroon has a glut of talent in South Africa, raising hopes the team can make a deep run in the tournament this year. Eto'o, who won the Champions League title this year with Inter Milan, leads the attack, while Arsenal's Alex Song and Lyon's Jean Makoun provide pace and skill in the midfield. Tottenham defenders Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Sebastien Bassong anchor the back line.

Cameroon opens its World Cup campaign against Japan on Monday at Free State stadium in Bloemfontein. It plays Denmark on June 19 and wraps up group play against the Netherlands five days later.

Even though Le Guen likes his team's chances, the coach isn't picking Cameroon to top the group.

"I think it's normal to consider the Netherlands as the favourite," he said.

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