Olympic Games · 2000
Cameroon come back to win gold
A week after beating Brazil with nine men, Cameroon were 2–0 down to Spain in the Olympic final at half-time. They levelled within 13 minutes of the restart and won on penalties.
Cameroon arrived at the Olympic final in Sydney having beaten Brazil with nine men in the quarter-finals a week earlier. Their opponents were a Spain side that included Xavi and Carles Puyol, and in front of a crowd of about 100,000 at the Olympic Stadium, Spain looked like the better team for 45 minutes.
Two down
Xavi scored with a free-kick in the second minute. Just before half-time Gabri made it 2–0. For Cameroon, whose squad included Samuel Eto'o, Patrick Mboma, Lauren, Geremi and the goalkeeper Carlos Kameni, it looked as though the run had gone as far as it would.
Thirteen minutes
The comeback began with some luck. In the 53rd minute the ball struck the Spanish defender Iván Amaya in the face and went in. Five minutes later Eto'o equalised. It was 2–2, and Cameroon had turned the final around in the space of 13 minutes after the restart.
Spain's discipline went. Gabri and José Mari were both sent off, and Spain finished the match with nine players. Cameroon could not find a winner, and the final went through extra time to penalties.
The shootout
Amaya, whose face had produced Cameroon's first goal, stepped up for Spain and hit the crossbar. Cameroon did not miss. The shootout finished 5–3, and the decisive kick was taken by Pierre Womé.
It was Cameroon's first Olympic gold medal, and it came four years after Nigeria had won the men's football tournament at Atlanta. Two African nations had now won Olympic football gold in succession.
The week
It is tempting to remember this side through the names that became famous later. It deserves to be remembered for what it did in Sydney. In the space of a week Cameroon beat Brazil with nine men and came from two goals down to beat Spain in a final watched by about 100,000 people.