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 OLYMPICS 2000: 
               The Football Tournament
DEUTSCHE VERSION ]

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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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