By James Copnall BBC Sport in Paris

It is not often that Africa's two best teams, Cameroon and Senegal, lose a game these days.

So when the continent's best performers at the World Cup, both suffer defeats within a 24 hour period, some questions need to be asked.

Firstly, are Cameroon on the slide?

A disappointing World Cup, the retirement of several key figures, and Tuesday's 3-0 thumping by the Ivory Coast might suggest that.

Schafer needs to find a partner for Eto'o

But while Cameroonian fans on Tuesday night were furious at their side's performance, coach Winfried Schafer did not seem too upset.

After all, this was his team's first game for eight months, and one in which he experimented with a back four.

"I won't do that again; it is not right for Cameroon's players," Schafer concluded.

Of more concern was the absence of the likes of Patrick Mboma and Lauren Etame Mayer.

Schafer will attend Saturday's English FA Cup clash between Manchester United and Arsenal, in an attempt to persuade Arsenal star Lauren to return to international football.

Where Schafer finds a replacement for Patrick Mboma is another matter.

Privately, he concedes that settling on a partner for Samuel Eto'o is a real problem; neither Cyrille Florent Bella nor Joseph-Desire Job provide the answer.

Schafer has the most luxurient hair in football

Fortunately for Schafer, he possesses the most luxuriant mullet in world football, and has more than enough hair - and quality football players - to overcome this latest setback.

Coming to Senegal, how much should be read into their 1-0 loss to Morocco on Wednesday?

The World Cup quarter-finalists were not particularly impressive, and Abdelilah Saber's 63rd minute goal was a deserved reward for the Moroccans.

But the Senegal side was a somewhat makeshift one - they ended the game with four debutants on the pitch, and even the 11 that started the game was missing the likes of Omar Daf, Lamine Diatta, Aliou Cisse and Pape Bouba Diop.

In such a context, a 1-0 loss to a decent Moroccan team is no real disgrace, especially given the strange atmosphere.

After the near riot that delayed it for almost two hours, neither team really wanted the match to take place.

Kamara was one of Senegal's bright spots

Besides, Guy Stephan will have learnt a lot about his new charges from the match.

The first lesson is that the players Stephan's predecessor, Bruno Metsu, took to the World Cup are the best players Senegal possess.

Of those winning their first caps, only Diomansy Kamara will have been happy with his showing.

But of more interest perhaps, was Stephan's tactical change.

He posted El Hadji Diouf out on the right wing, where he has had success recently for Liverpool, and used two out and out strikers through the middle.

It is a formula that could serve Senegal.

So, while Lions, both Dakar and Indomitable, will be concerned at the manner of their defeats, they need not be too worried about their ability to put things right in the near future.