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FINAL
+ 3rd PLACE PLAYOFF
Sep 30, 1 am GMT
Kickoff 1 am GMT. This is
12 noon Sydney time. For Europe it is in the night from Friday to Saturday.
For Americans it is on the evening of Friday, the 29th.
The strange kick off time
had been arranged to make the match take place at the Olympic Stadium before
Athletics will continue later that day.
Cameroon
- Spain 2:2 after extra-time, penalty shoot-out: 5:3
1st half:
-Cameroon start unconcentrated
like in all halfs of quarter and semi-finals and cause a free kick situation
from 16 meters right in the first minute
-('2) Spanish #8 Xavi
lets the keeper no chance - 0:1
-('4) Spain: a through ball
on Jose Mari who maybe is touched at the heels, he falls in the penalty
area - it is penalty
-('5) Kemani saves the
penalty against Angulo
-('6) Cameroon: Mboma with
a first attempted header
-Spain try to win the ball
in midfield and then operate immediately with through balls and triangle
play - yet very dangerous
-('9) Kemani clears in sweeper
style 25 meters out of the goal
-('11) Cameroon have some
ball control now and make a powerplay
-('17) already the fifth
corner for Cameroon - it brings some danger by a Mboma header but the referee
does not like his physical approach
-('18) first yellow card
against #6 Albelda, Spain
-('21) Cameroon are lucky
at what seemed to be a wrong offside call and unlucky as Mboma is stopped
in the last second on the counter attack for another corner
-('23) after a collision
Cameroon #17 Branco and a Spanish player have to be carried off
-('24) Spanish keeper has
problems with a cross
-('25) yellow card against
Cameroon #5 Abanda after a stupid midfield foul - he has yet a bad day,
he caused the free kick to the goal as well
-('26) Spain bring in Gabri
in place of the injured player Velamazan, Branco is back in for Cameroon
-('29) close offside calls
on both sides
-('30) Gabri has a chance
after a fast attack but his ball goes high aross the bar
-('40) Eto'o sets free Mboma
perfectly but whatevr it was he intended goes wrong completely
-('42) Eto'o with a good
solorun, is stopped and/or falls over a defender, but no penalty says the
referee
-('injury time) Cameroon
in moving forward when suddenly a Spanish player heads the ball out of
his own half deep into the Cameroonian half. The ball becomes a through
ball for Gabri. He is one of three attackers alone with Nguimbat (a situation
of lifted offside or some players in passive offside which is not clearly
to see). Nguimbat can't reach him anymore and he scores - 0:2
halftime 0:2
Cameroon as notorious bad
starters saw their chances damaged right in the first minutes and escaped
with only one goal when Kemani saved the penalty. After it it was a different
game. Cameroon dominated and played a good looking football (7-1 corners).
Spain played out of a defence waiting for the opportunity. It came rather
unexpected when Cameroon lost some concentration a again at the end of
injury time. But Cameroon might not be beaten yet. They are used to the
life on the edge in this tournament. They will have to concentrate on the
beginning of the second half this time!
2nd half:
-('46) this time it is Cameroon
who come out concentrated and Branco puts the keeper to a test with an
18 m shot
-it is the same powerplay
by Cameroon as in the first half but now it looks more fired up
-('53) finally it has
a first effect: a spanish defender deflects a Mboma cross into his own
goal - 1:2
-('55) Abanda with another
stupid situation, using his ellbow against Jose Mari, referee has not seen
or not considered it a foul
-('57) Spanish keeper is
lucky when he plays the ball with his hand close to the border of the penalty
are
-('58) this time a fast
counter attack by Cameroon - a perfect cross by Mboma on Eto'o who scores
- 2:2
-('62) Mboma with a spectacular
situation - but no real danger to the goal
-Spain have become nervous
under the pressure
-('64) Mboma with a header
- no problem for the keeper this time
-Ngom Kome who has come
in for Nguimbat at halftime adds a lot of momentum to the Cameroonian left
side
-('68) Kameni intercepts
a through ball on Jose Mari as Spain threatens for the first time in this
half
-(''69) Spanish keeper saves
a good header by a Cameroonian defender after a corner
-('70)
red card for Spanish #10 Gabri after a mean looking challenge, which was
rather late than intented - he hit the knee of a Cameroonian player who
is carried off - it looks bad
-('72) a 99 percent chance
for Eto'om, set up by #11Ngom Kome, after a fast Cameroon counter attack,
but his direct shot goes narrowly wide
-Cameroon have returned
to a meore careful style - they seem to be a bit anxious now being one
man more
-('85) Cameroon patiently
play through the Spanish walls but Mboma is stopped in the last moment
for a corner. After which Eto'o scores but he has used his hand to stop
the ball
-('87) Kameni plays sweeper
again after a long ball on Jose Mari - he stops the ball with his chest
-Cameroon had looked
paralyzed for some minutes, now they have started to play fotball again
-('injury
time) second yellow card for Jose Mari as he falls inside the penalty area,
referee says diving - Spain are down to 9
extra-time:
-('92) Spain get a free
kick from half right side and it becomes a dangerous indirect played one,
hitting the outside of the goalpost
-('95) aftera one-two Eto'o
is in front of the keeper who makes a great save against his shot from
9 meters
-('96) Cameroons pressure
now big, Epalle's shot from 20 meters becomes dangerous but is saved
-('98) The Spanish keeper
is now in the focus of the match
-('98) One sole Spanish
striker causes fear and missunderstanding as several players want to stop
him at the same time
-('100) another good chance
for Epalle who has his shot blocked by a defender
-('103) good free kick situation
for Mboma, but his ball is far too high
-('105) Eto'o is stopped
in the last moment after a good solo run
-halftime
-('107) Spain escape twice,
Cameroon try to combinate through the crowded defence who have a foot in
at the last moment
-('109) Mboma tries from
25, but shot is deflected and no problem for the keeper
-('113) again Spain under
heavy pressur and again a defender can deflect Mboma's shot which now hits
the outside of the net
-('114) Mboma is blocked
again, he had not seen the unmarked player to the left
-('119) severalexciting
situations in the Spanish penalty area, but the closest Cameroon gets is
a Mboma header wide
-('120) Mboma sets up Eto'o,
he scores, it is ruled offside - the replay shows the referee team is wrong!
-match is over - penalty
shoot-out
penalty shoot-out:
Cameroon |
Spain |
Mboma goal |
Xavi goal |
Eto'o goal |
Capdevila goal |
Geremi goal |
crossbar |
Etame goal |
Albelda goal |
Wome goal |
|
Cameroon win gold medal!
The suspensions had rather
paralyzed the Cameroonian game, before they fought for their chance, now
they became afraid of losing, their game became very slow, too slow to
crack the Spanish defence - apart from that goal that was a wrong offside
call.
Before the lions had proven
they are indomitable, coming back from two goals behind against then 11
Spanish.
Spain after the suspensions
had a one player attack only most of the time and tried to reach penalties.
But here is another story: In the quarter final Cameroon had beaten Brazil
with 9 against 11 because they had been seeking their chance. Cameroon
has won the title with a most attractive football, attacking on all levels,
taking risks everywhere (apart from this extra-time). Just think of that
offside tactics against Brazil and Chile.
What makes the success even
more exciting: it was won with an African coach - Jean-Paul Akono can celebrate
the biggest success for an African coach yet.
3rd place match:
Sep
29, 9 am GMT
USA - Chile 0:2
-0:1, 0:2 ('70 pen., '85)
Zamorano
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