Before the match 
The big one. It is very seldom, that the two teams which are considered as the strongest of the tournament, even of the continent, meet in the finals. But both have impressed, especially by the strength and brilliance of their individuals. It is a match which is awfully difficult to call. It is one of the greatest matchups ever.  
For Cameroon it is already the second ime they face a host team. In the opening match against Ghana they had dominated, but not at last the crowd had helped Ghana back into the match. Cameroon lookes a bit more consistent in their performances, but they depend on some confidence, too. Neither against Algeria nor against Tunisia they had good first 10 minutes. And the only match they fell behind, against Togo, they lost. But they won all matches that really mattered in a convincing way. If they do not win today, they will be a team with bright future anyway. 
Nigeria on the other side, have recovered from their only match in which they fell behind: they beat Senegal after extra-time in the semi-finals. But this had been a dramatic escape, scoring the equaliaser with only minutes to go. Nigeria are the most brilliant team, showing off the magic some of Africa's football had been about before adapting the European result-orientated thinking. But they are vulnarable too. Home fans can make them do anything but also can mean a lot of pressure when they are disappointed. 
Some commentators expect a high scoring game because of the abilities of both attacks and problems in both defences. I am not so sure about this. Both mioght play quite carefully and who scores first has a good chance to win the match. It might depend upon when the first goal will be scored. 

halftime 1:2 
A great match for a final. Cameroon are so strong and well balanced. The Nigerians have some brilliant properties but they are also vulnerable, especially against the Cameroon right hand side. While the Cameroon defenders quite well have controlled their opponents, the Nigerian defenders have a lot of trouble with Eto'o and Mboma. Eto'o more and more emerges as one of the superstars in this squad. 
But the Nigerian team has proven they can explode at any moment.  
The match looked as if over when Cameroon were close to the third goal, but the late goal by Nigeria may be a boost in confidence and might bring some momentum. Cameroon has 15 minutes halftime to prepare for it. 

result after 90 minutes 2:2 
In the last 20 minutes both teams have played quite anxious. Maybe the prospect of 30 more minutes will make them take some more chances now. The teams are difficult to compare: Cameroon is the superior team most of the time, but Nigeria can explode at any time as they have proved now in all matches. 

extra-time 1st half: 
-('91)  Cameroon: Laurent Meyer wins a freekick, half right. Mboma tries a curve ball but it misses the goal at the near post 
-('93) Cameroon: Mettomo comes in for Kalla 
-('93) Nigeria: Okocha is in the pebnalty area but outnumbered 
-('94) Nigeria: Babangida explodes on the right hand side indside the penalty area and when everybody thinks cross he fires towards the near corner - Alioum makes a spectacular save 
Job yet is ineffective compared to Eto'o  
-('96) Nigeria: Ikpeba replaces Adepoju who can't continue because of injury 
-('99) Nigeria: Oliseh balloons an attaempt from far high into the air 
-('100) Nigeria: Babangida gets in a cross from the right wing and Ikpepas header misses the goal by centimeters - Nigerian substitutes seem to have more impact  
-halftime 
extra-time 2nd half: 
both teams look tired and mistakes number grows  
-('108) Nigerians with some neat passing inside the Cameroon penalty area, but no real danger 
-('110) now it is Cameroon with a half chance 
-('113) Cameroon, but is now only individual actions (Meyer?) which are more easy to close down 
Aghahowa successfully has defends on the left hand side more than two times (against the strong Cameroon right side) 
-('116) Cameroon: great counter-attack, but eventually Babayaro stopps Mayer 
-('117) Nigeria: Babangida almost creates a chance 
-('118) Nigeria: Oliseh is lucky to escape a second booking as he commits a tactical foul stopping Cameroon on a counter-attempt early in their own half 
-('120) Cameroon: Job brilliantly sets free Mboma but he seems too tired and is stopped 
-('120) Nigerians answer but Ikpeba is closed down as well 
-match over 
penalties will decide: 
an awful way to decide on a championship 

penalty shoot-out: 
Nigeria is to begin 

Nigeria	Cameroon
1:0 Okocha	1:1 Mboma
2:1 Okpara	2:2 Wome
Alioum saves*	2:3 Geremi Njitap
*crossbar, the ball bounced down, back to the bar and out, unclear whether it has crossed the line, how did the referee (linesman) decide?  no goal	wide right*
3:3 Oliseh	3:4 Song

*players names who do not score in penalty shoot outs do not get named by The Shot That passed Right Through the Net, as this kind of competition is unfair to the players who are willing to take the responsibility 
winners: CAMEROON 
penalties a terrible way to decide on a champion: 
The stadium is in silence. The fault does not lie in the linesman who had to decide on that controversial 4th Nigerian penalty, it lies in the system. The penalty was too sharp too see right. But TV replays suggest it had crossed the line. (This of course does not necessarily mean that Nigeria would have won otherwise!) Penalties always create a scapegoat. This is no fault of him, it is the fault of the idea. 
(The Shot That Passed Right Through The Net since 4 years has offered an idea for a new kind of extra-time, but yet assoiciations have not responded. Maybe sponsors can help here.) 
  
Cameroon had been the better team in the first 70 minutes but Nigeria had come back then. Cameroon has played away against Ghana and Nigeria and many will say they deserve the cup. At the penalty shoot out they had the luck they had been missing when twice hitting the goalpost in regular time.