Milla hits out at African teams

Roger Milla believes the display by the African nations at the World Cup has been disappointing.

The former Cameroon international - a star at the 1990 World Cup in which he scored four goals on the way to defeat to England in the quarter-finals - also hit out at his own nation's woeful display in the tournament, blaming indiscipline in the camp.

Only Ghana this summer and Senegal in 2002 have matched Cameroon's achievements since then, and Milla admitted he expected more from the tournament's home continent as it hosted its first World Cup.

"It was disappointing," he told Press Association Sport. "A lot of people were saying that there would be three African teams in the second round and only Ghana made it, although that was to the quarter-finals.

"I was hoping for more and expecting more, along with better results."

Milla admitted he was "obviously disappointed" by his countrymen's efforts, with their 2-1 defeat to Denmark making them the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the tournament.

Cameroon's campaign imploded as coach Paul Le Guen struggled to cope with infighting within the camp, but Milla said the warning signs had been evident long before the squad travelled to South Africa.

"The lack of discipline that has been happening over the past three years made the results not a surprise," he said.

"Being eliminated in the first round was, unfortunately, something that could have been foreseen.

"There was a lot of indiscipline within the team and some issues between the players."

Milla also defended his criticism of Samuel Eto'o before the World Cup, when he publicly questioned whether the Inter Milan striker was worthy of a place in the national team's starting line-up.

"Yes, my words may have had an impact," said Milla, reflecting on a campaign that saw Eto'o score twice. "But the reason Eto'o played in his proper position as a forward (rather than a right-winger) in the second game was because of what I said.

"Eto'o played much better in that second game. I think I had an impact but I was hoping these changes would have been made right from the start."