in 2006 Considered a key player for
Cameroon for over a decade, Song played in the
1994,
1998,
2002 and
2010 World Cups. He made his international debut on 22 September 1993, in a game against
Mexico. At only 17 years old, Song was given a surprise call-up to
Henri Michel's Cameroon squad for the 1994 World Cup, playing two group matches in the finals against
Sweden and
Brazil. He received a
red card in the match against Brazil, becoming the youngest player ever to be sent off in a World Cup. Led by veteran striker
Roger Milla, the
Indomitable Lions were knocked out in the group stage. The 24 years and 42 days age gap between Milla (42 years and 35 days) and future captain Song (17 years and 358 days) became (and remains) the largest between two teammates in World Cup history. Song then participated at the 1998 World Cup. Led by Song,
Patrick Mboma and 17-year old striker
Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon were eliminated in the group stage following a draw with
Austria (1–1), a loss to
Italy (3–0) and another draw with
Chile. After receiving a red card in the last game against
La Roja, Song broke another record: he became the first player ever to be sent off at two different World Cups.
Zinedine Zidane, who was also sent off at this World Cup, has since achieved this feat as well, receiving his second red card in
the final of the 2006 tournament. Curiously, in that match, Song wore mismatched boots whose colors matched the bookings he received: yellow on the right foot and red on the left. Song was a part of the Cameroon squads that won the
2000 and
2002 Africa Cup of Nations. After winning the 23rd edition of the football championship of Africa, the
Indomitable Lions featured in the 2002 World Cup, but were again eliminated in the group stage following a 1–1 draw with the
Republic of Ireland, a 1–0 win over
Saudi Arabia and a 2–0 defeat to
Germany. Song's next tournament was the
2003 Confederations Cup. The
Indomitable Lions qualified for the semi-finals after wins against Brazil (0–1) and
Turkey (1–0) and a draw with the United States. The defender then led his team against
Colombia in the knockout stage. In the 72nd minute of the game, Song's long-time friend
Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed in the centre circle, with no other players near him. Foé died the same day due to
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise. Cameroon eventually won the game 1–0, but lost to
France in the finals after extra time. Although Cameroon did not manage to qualify for the
2006 World Cup finals, the team participated in the
2006 Africa Cup of Nations. In the tournament, Song became the most
capped player in Cameroon history. After three wins over
Angola (3–1),
Togo (2–0) and
Congo DR (2–0) in the group stage, the
Indomitable Lions were eliminated in the quarter-finals by
Ivory Coast, following a 24-penalty shoot-out, in which Cameroon was defeated 12–11. Song was also part of the Cameroon squad for the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations. After a 4–2 loss to
Egypt in the Group C opening match, the veteran defender led his team to wins against
Zambia (5–1) and
Sudan (3–0). In the first game against
The Pharaohs, Song's nephew
Alex made his international debut for Cameroon, joining Rigobert on the pitch at half-time. The captain then carried the
Indomitable Lions to the knockout stage, in which they defeated
Tunisia (2–3) and
Ghana (0–1) before losing the final to Egypt 1–0. The only goal, made by
Mohamed Aboutrika, came after a mistake by Song, who covered his face with his shirt during the opponent's celebration. On 31 May 2008, Song scored the first goal for Cameroon after nine minutes, in a 2–0 home win against
Cape Verde. With the win, the
Indomitable Lions took an early lead in Group 1 of the 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. In 2009, Song was dropped as captain of the Cameroonian national team, from the World Cup/African Nations Cup qualifiers by new coach
Paul Le Guen, but still remained the player that defined the image of the national team. Le Guen eventually appointed Samuel Eto'o as his new captain. On 12 August 2009, Cameroon's most-capped player was left out of the starting eleven for the first time in ten years in a friendly game against Austria. In 16 years with the national team, he has been to the African Nations Cup a record eight times, serving as captain in five competitions - except in South Africa in 1996, Burkina Faso in 1998 and Angola in 2010. Song holds the record of most consecutive games played in the African Nations Cup, with 35 first-team games. He won the Nations Cup twice in Nigeria 2000 and Mali 2002, losing to Egypt in the finals in Ghana 2008. In 2010, Cameroon was featured in the
2010 Africa Cup of Nations, but failed to win the tournament. On 13 January 2010, the
Lions lost in a 1–0 group-stage upset against
Gabon, but won a match against Zambia four days later, 3–2. Despite being considered an experienced player, some of Song's mistakes in the tournament were called "self-destructive": in the first game against Gabon, a defensive error allowed
Daniel Cousin's goal, and against Zambia in the second, he headed a cross towards his own goal. The team still qualified for the quarter-finals with four points, after a draw with Tunisia on 21 January, in which Song came in as a substitute. Two days later, Cameroon was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, following a 3–1 loss after extra time to Egypt. In the match,
Aurélien Chedjou was preferred to Song, ending the former captain's run of 36 successive Africa Cup of Nations matches, a total of 3,201 minutes. After such events, Song was relegated to a role as backup for a string of games, as Le Guen often preferred to field younger players such as
Sébastien Bassong and
Benoît Assou-Ekotto. Although he had handed the captain's armband over to Eto'o, Song was still selected for the
2010 World Cup squad in South Africa, making him the only player to play in the 1994 and 2010 World Cup finals. He was also the most experienced player to be featured in South Africa 2010, with 136 caps for his nation. Song did not play in Cameroon's opening game of the World Cup against
Japan. The
Samurai Blue won the game 1–0, with a goal from
Keisuke Honda. After the match, Song and some senior players claimed that Cameroon's youngsters were not up to required standard, and asked Le Guen to reconsider his lineup for the next group match against
Denmark. Song, however, was again omitted in the game with Denmark, which Cameroon lost 2–1. With the loss, they became the first team to be mathematically eliminated in the 2010 World Cup. The former captain eventually featured in the last game against the
Netherlands, his fourth World Cup participation; he entered the match as a substitute for
Nicolas N'Koulou in the 73rd minute of the second-half. The
Indomitable Lions went out of the tournament with a 1–2 loss and shortly after, on 1 August, Song retired from international duty after 137 total appearances. ==Managerial career==