There were no last-minute wild cards, no shocking omissions in Volker Finke's Cameroon provisional 28-man squad. Keen for the continuation of the feel-good factor that has made the players ache for, rather than dread, camp get-togethers, the German coach has sensibly shown gratitude and loyalty to the same group of players that booked the Indomitable Lions' ticket to Brazil.
Yet, still emitting the afterglow of his triumph with Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League, it hasn't muted the rising clamour in some quarters for the inclusion of the enigmatic, rampaging razzmatazz of Achille Emana, especially with the dearth of creativity in the squad. The attacking midfielder is a polarity of brilliance one moment and sulkiness and anonymity the next, but he has been deemed the solution to the poverty of through-the-eye-of-the-needle incision in the Indomitable Lions' final third.
For all his rare, premium nous to unlock defences, his straight-talking manner and stubbornness to follow Samuel Eto'o's style of leadership would inevitably lead to the duo locked in the player-power tug-of-war that has played a part in derailing the development of this Cameroon team.
Another key but, given his exclusion in recent squads, expected omission is that of experienced goalkeeper Idriss Kameni, a veteran of two World Cups and five Africa Cup of Nations. A second choice for his club side Malaga, his major tournament know-how and ability as a goalkeeper remains several levels above the quartet of goalkeepers (Charles Itandje, Guy N'dy Assembe, Sammy N'Djock and Loic Feudjou) that Finke has chosen.
Feudjou is 22 and plying his trade domestically at Coton Sport, and his surname is apt for the first four letters of it give a hint as to why Kameni has been banished. Indeed, such is the delicacy and fragility of his relationship with Eto'o and others in the squad that he, after a season of warming the bench, will have to contend with also warming the sofa at home.
As for the squad itself, Finke has grouped players hitting the sweet-spot of their careers and young pretenders that, with the right attitude and coaching, could turn out to be very good players. Twenty-one out of the 28-man squad are 28 or younger while 16 were members of the ill-fated campaign of the last World Cup. With a large proportion of the latter likely to make the full squad, they will need to ensure lessons have been learnt.
All eyes will be cast on the senior figures of the squad to set the example. Mathematically, the father figures of the team come in the shape of three strikers: Eto'o, 33 years of age, Mohammadou Idrissou, 34, and the ever-smiling Pierre Achille Webo, 32. If you take the ageing trio out of the equation, then all the outfield players, at this point in time, are 30 or below.
Out of the youngsters, it is the omission of Jean-Marie Dongou that has caused some commotion. Yes, the highly-rated Barcelona forward is uncapped, but lofty comparisons with Lionel Messi, by those well-placed to know best, a few years ago, and a series of recent call-ups had made many presume that he was a shoo-in for the squad, even if under the guise of an intern there to condition himself for future Cameroon excursions. Injuries have stagnated the 19-year-old's development, however, and he has ultimately been considered too raw to make the cut. The uncapped Franck Bagnack, Dongou's Barcelona B teammate, has, along with Guy Christan Zock, been named on the two-man standby list.
The culling of the squad to the final 23 will occur on the 2nd of June. And it is a task guaranteed to give Finke, a former mathematics teacher, a mix of logical and gut-instinct conundrums in the coming weeks as he seeks to get the correct balanced equation of form, youthfulness, experience and, considering Cameroon's last World Cup campaign, unobtrusive figures.