Football · 1990 · Italy
Cameroon Stuns the World
An African side beats the reigning World Cup holders in the opening match, then a 38-year-old substitute scores four goals and carries them to the first African quarter-final.
Cameroon 1-0 Argentina (holders)
Opening result
4
Milla's tournament goals
38
Milla's age
Cameroon opened the 1990 World Cup against the defending champions Argentina in Milan. François Omam-Biyik's looping header went through the hands of the goalkeeper Nery Pumpido, and Cameroon won 1-0, having finished the match with nine men after two red cards.
Roger Milla was 38 and had been coaxed out of international retirement for the tournament. He came off the bench to score twice against Romania and twice more against Colombia in the last sixteen, the second of those after the goalkeeper René Higuita tried to dribble past him near the halfway line and did not. Milla's hip-swivelling celebration at the corner flag became the image of that summer.
England ended the run in the quarter-final, 3-2 after extra time and two Gary Lineker penalties, but no African nation had been that far at a World Cup before. FIFA expanded the places available to the continent not long afterwards, and the way African football was discussed had already changed.
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