The second-round game of the 1990 World Cup between Cameroon and Colombia in Naples, Italy, was a match that would be remembered for its dramatic finish and the heroics of one man: Roger Milla.
The first 105 minutes produced only sporadic action, drawing derisive whistles from the spectators at San Paolo Stadium. But those who remained were rewarded with a 2-1 Cameroon victory and a dramatic finish featuring two of the most intriguing players of the tournament.
As a result, Cameroon became the first African team in 60 years of World Cup history to advance to the quarterfinals, in a game that took 120 minutes to resolve.
The match was a clash between two distinct, thrilling styles. Both sides made a purposeful start to the last 16 match, with Omam-Biyik sending a header towards goal within the first minute from a whipped free-kick. Carlos Estrada had the first major chance in the seventh minute, when Leonel Álvarez played a gorgeous ball behind the defence to put him one-on-one with Thomas N’Kono in the Cameroon goal.
The Indomitable Lions mostly amassed in their own half to neutralise the Colombians’ potent passing. There was something magnificently rhythmic about Colombia’s triangular passing - more akin to a well-drilled club side than an international outfit. As Colombia became more confident they shifted further forward, playing a high line and putting Higuita on sweeper-keeper duty. You could see N’Kono was worried by the way he shouts at his defenders. Luckily for N’Kono, the shot bounces off the post and away.
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As Milla comes on, Cameroon are finding more of a rhythm of their own, putting some of their own passing moves together in the Colombia half and also posing more of a threat on the break. Milla gets his first shot in on Higuita after 65 minutes - and he could have done better after being headed clear of the defence. He sends in another shot drilled from left of the area after 69 minutes. Milla’s directness is already causing a headache as the biggest stage of all drives his 38-year-old legs into a furious pace.
The tension continued to build in first period of extra time, with only Cameroon going close to a breakthrough thanks to a flashed shot from Emmanuel Maboang from the right of the area after Omam-Biyik floated a ball across the defensive line in the 12th minute.
Within three minutes of the start of the second 15-minute overtime, Roger Milla, at 38 the oldest and most indomitable of the Indomitable Lions, twice got the best of Colombia’s “El Loco” goalkeeper, Rene Higuita, for goals.
Less than a minute had elapsed in the second 15-minute overtime, when Cameroon forward Francois Onam Biyick eluded defender Luis Carlo Perea with a pass outside the penalty area to Milla, who dribbled past sweeper Andres Escobar. Higuita came out to meet Milla but could not throw his body in front of the left-footed shot.
With his team down 1-0, Higuita roamed even farther afield than usual in an attempt to free his defenders to join the attack. Milla caught Higuita with the ball far from the goal, stole it with ease and, two minutes after scoring his first goal, loped toward an empty net to give Cameroon a 2-0 lead.
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Colombia’s Valverde Bernardo Redin scored in the 115th minute, five minutes from the finish, but Higuita had already sealed his team’s doom.
TOP 10 GOALS | 1990 FIFA World Cup
“People will talk about it, and they will be right in talking about it,” Higuita said. “It was a mistake and everyone saw it. It was as big as a house.”
Higuita, 23, said he apologized to his teammates but will not change his tactics.
“No, never,” he said. “I’ve always managed to get away with it. On other occasions, I did my job well and was praised. Sooner or later, I had to make a mistake. Unfortunately, it happened this afternoon.”
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If Cameroon’s success seems improbable considering it entered the tournament as a 500-1 longshot, how about that of Milla? Two years since his second retirement, Milla has four goals in four games and was tied with Spain’s Jose Miguel Gonzalez--Michel--as the tournament’s leading scorer until Czechoslovakia’s Tomas Skuhravy scored three times Saturday against Costa Rica to total five.
Performing in his fourth decade after turning professional at 16, Milla, twice voted Africa’s player of the year, rediscovered his zest for the game--and seemingly his youth--last season while playing for an amateur team, Saint Pierroise, on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
But when Milla asked this spring to return to the national team, Cameroon’s sports minister said the old lion was too long in the tooth.
Milla looked 16 again to the minister when he heard the angry outcry from Cameroon’s soccer fans. As if it were his idea all along, the minister demanded that Coach Valery Nepomnyachy add Milla to the roster.
“Hang up my boots? You must be joking,” Milla said before the opening game against defending champion Argentina. “I’m a youngster, curious and fascinated by the World Cup, and I will show it.”
He has proved to be a man of his word. Entering the second game with 32 minutes remaining, he scored two goals in a 2-1 victory over Romania that assured Cameroon of a second-round berth in only its second World Cup appearance.
In the first, eight years ago in Spain, Cameroon finished with three first-round ties--including one against eventual champion Italy--but did not advance because it did not score enough goals. Milla appeared to score one against Peru that would have sent Cameroon through, but it was nullified because he was off-sides.
It seems now he can do no wrong.
Soccer fans here still have not forgiven Cameroon for its stunning 1-0 upset victory over Argentina and Maradona, who stars for Naples in the Italian league. But they are familiar with Milla’s story, as is everyone in the country who can read an Italian newspaper, and applaud him when he entered the game Saturday nine minutes into the second half.
Milla was not immediately accepted back onto the team this spring by some players, but he since has become their spiritual leader.
“Every time he comes onto the field, he infuses the belief of victory into the team,” Nepomnyachy said.
After playing a defensive first half to hold off the charging but luckless Colombians, Cameroon temporarily showed signs of life on offense with Milla on the field.
Not until the end did it become clear that either team wanted to win.
Colombia had temporarily suspended soccer operations in February because of death threats against players and coaches related to the country’s drug war. Also playing in only its second World Cup, it assured itself of a place in the second round with a 1-1 tie against potent West Germany.
Cameroon will play its quarterfinal game here July 1 against the winner of Tuesday’s second-round game between England and Belgium.
Until 15 days ago, no one would have given Cameroon much chance against either. Now, who knows?
“We hoped the Cameroonians will reach important goals,” Colombia Coach Francisco Maturana said.
They already have.
Cameroon qualified for the 1990 World Cup by surpassing Nigeria and beating Tunisia in the final round playoff. In the final tournament, Cameroon were drawn into Group B with Argentina, Romania and the Soviet Union. Cameroon defeated defending champions Argentina in the opening game 1-0 with a goal scored by François Omam-Biyik. Cameroon later defeated Romania 2-1 and lost to the Soviet Union 0-4, becoming the first side to top a World Cup Finals group with a negative goal difference. In the quarter-finals, Cameroon faced England.
After 25 minutes, England's David Platt scored for England, while in the second-half, Cameroon came back with a 61st-minute penalty from Emmanuel Kundé and took the lead with Eugène Ekéké on 65 minutes. England, however, equalized in the 83rd minute with a penalty from Gary Lineker, while Lineker again found the net via a 105th-minute penalty to make the eventual scoreline 3-2 for England.
The Cameroon national football team, also known as the Indomitable Lions, has qualified for the FIFA World Cup eight times, more than any other African team. They were the first African team to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup in 1990.
Cameroon played its first match against Belgian Congo in 1956, losing 3-2. They first qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970, but were knocked out in the first round. Two years later, as hosts, the Indomitable Lions finished third after being knocked out by their neighbors and future champions Congo in the 1972 Africa Cup of Nations. Cameroon qualified for its first FIFA World Cup in 1982.
The 1994 World Cup in the United States saw the adjustment of representation for African teams qualifying, from two to three. Cameroon qualified along with Nigeria and Morocco.
In the final tournament, Cameroon were drawn into Group B with Sweden, Brazil and Russia. After a 2-2 draw against Sweden, Cameroon lost to Brazil and Russia sealed their elimination. In their last game against Russia, the then 42-year-old Roger Milla became the oldest player to play and score in a World Cup finals match.
The 1998 World Cup in France saw an increase of 24 to 32 teams, with Cameroon one of the five countries representing Africa. Cameroon were drawn into Group B with Italy, Chile and Austria. Despite drawing with Chile and Austria (after leading 1-0 against them until the 90th minute), a 3-0 defeat to Italy saw Cameroon finish bottom of the group. Cameroon had three players sent off in the course of the tournament, more than any other team.
Cameroon qualified for the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, clinching first place in their group which included Angola, Zambia and Togo.
Cameroon were drawn into Group E alongside Germany, the Republic of Ireland and Saudi Arabia. Cameroon started with a 1-1 draw with Ireland after giving up the lead and later defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0.
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