Samuel Eto'o missed a last-minute penalty as Cameroon was held 0-0 at home by Senegal in a 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday, further denting the four-time African champion's slim hopes of playing in next year's tournament.
Eto'o hit the crossbar with his injury-time spot-kick, denying Cameroon what would have been a precious victory in its fading 2012 qualifying campaign.
Cameroon is five points off Group E leader Senegal and an automatic place at the 2012 African championship with two games left.
Monaco striker Benjamin Moukandjo also missed key chances for Cameroon, which controlled the last 30 minutes but couldn't break through.
''We are in a very unfortunate position,'' midfielder Stephane Mbia said.
Cameroon now has to win both its final qualifiers - against Mauritius and Congo - and hope other results go its way to win an automatic place at the Cup of Nations. It is also well off the pace in the race for one of the two best second-place spots in the 11-group qualifying competition.
Police used water cannons to disperse disgruntled home fans after they blocked Cameroon's team bus from leaving Yaounde's Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium for over an hour following the game, with the supporters blaming captain Eto'o for the team's struggles.
