Following Eto'o refused to return to the national squad in late-August 2012, The Cameroon Football Federation stripped him of his captaincy in response and Nkoulou was appointed as a new captain of Cameroon [REF].
Two years later on 26 March 2016, Nkoulou scored his first international goal, in a 2-2 draw against South Africa, the team he made his national debut eight years ago [REF].