Olympic football gold won by Nigeria, then Cameroon

In 1996 Nigeria travelled to the Olympic Games in Atlanta. The general expectation was that Brazil or Argentina would win the tournament, which was understandable given that players such as Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Bebeto, Crespo and Ortega were taking part.

The Nigerians started well, beating Hungary 1-0 in their first group game. Nwankwo Kanu scored a fine goal after a one-two just before half-time, and it proved to be the only goal of the game. Two days later, on 23 July 1996, the Super Eagles met Japan, their main rivals for a quarter-final place. Nigeria eventually won 2-0 thanks to late goals from Babangida and Okocha.

Already through to the next round, Nigeria lost 1-0 to Brazil, Ronaldo scoring in the 30th minute. In the quarter-finals the Nigerians recorded a confident 2-0 win over Mexico, which set up another meeting with Brazil, this time in the semi-finals.

That was the Super Eagles' first real test. They were 3-1 down when Ikpeba found the net 12 minutes from time. Then, in the very last seconds, Kanu equalised to make it 3-3. The future Arsenal forward went on to score a golden goal in the 94th minute and sent Nigeria into the final.

The final was even more dramatic. Nigeria trailed Argentina 2-1 until the 74th minute, when Amokachi scored to make it 2-2. In the 90th minute the Argentine defence tried to catch the Nigerian forwards offside, but the linesman kept his flag down and Amuneke scored the winner. Nigeria were the new Olympic champions.

Four years later, in 2000, Cameroon were among the teams at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The Indomitable Lions faced the same difficult task. After getting out of their group, they beat Brazil 2-1 in the quarter-finals with a golden goal by M'Bami in the 114th minute. Cameroon then had luck on their side against Chile in the semi-finals. Iván Zamorano and his teammates missed a string of clear chances and were eventually punished by Mboma and Lauren, who turned the game around and secured victory for the Lions.

In the final Cameroon were 2-0 down to Spain, but in the second half the referee sent off two Spanish players, and the Lions got back into the match through an own goal by Amaya and an equaliser from Eto'o. The game went to penalties, and it was definitely not Amaya's day: he hit the woodwork, and the trophy went to Cameroon.

These two tournaments showed that anything is possible in football, even when the supposed underdog meets the strongest teams in the world.

The final in Athens, Georgia

The 1996 final was not played in Atlanta itself but at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia, on 3 August 1996, in front of 86,117 spectators. The Italian referee Pierluigi Collina took charge of the match. Argentina went ahead in the third minute through Claudio López, Celestine Babayaro equalised in the 28th minute, and Hernán Crespo restored Argentina's lead with a penalty early in the second half. Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amunike, who had come on as a substitute, then completed the comeback for a 3-2 win. The team was coached by the Dutchman Jo Bonfrère and captained by Kanu.

The victory made Nigeria the first African nation to win Olympic gold in football. The squad became known at home as the "Dream Team", and Kanu was named African Footballer of the Year for 1996. Brazil had to settle for bronze, beating Portugal 5-0 a day before the final, with Bebeto scoring a hat-trick.

Cameroon in Sydney

The 2000 final between Spain and Cameroon was played on 30 September 2000 at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. The crowd of 104,098 set an attendance record for Olympic football. Xavi and Gabri had given Spain a 2-0 lead by half-time. Cameroon levelled in the 53rd and 58th minutes, and Spain then lost Gabri to a straight red card in the 70th minute and José Mari to a second yellow in stoppage time. The game ended 2-2 after extra time. Cameroon won the shoot-out 5-3. The Indomitable Lions were coached by Jean-Paul Akono, and Chile took the bronze medal with two goals from Iván Zamorano against the United States.