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 as an experienced player, some of Song's mistakes in the tournament were called "self-destructive": in the first game against Gabon, a defensive error by the veteran defender 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.