Lineker tames the Indomitable Lions

England 3-2 Cameroon (AET)
Italy 1990 | Quarter-final
Stadio San Paolo, Naples
Attendance: 55,205
Goals: Platt (26), Lineker (83 pen and 105 pen); Kunde (62 pen), Ekeke (65).

Teams
England
Peter Shilton; Paul Parker, Mark Wright, Terry Butcher, Des Walker, Stuart Pearce; Chris Waddle, David Platt, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes; Gary Lineker.

Substitutions: Peter Beardsley for Barnes (46), Trevor Steven for Butcher (73).
Coach: Bobby Robson.

Cameroon
Thomas N’Kono; Stephen Tataw, Benjamin Massing, Emmanuel Kunde, Bertin Ebwelle; Thomas Libiih, Emmanuel Maboang, Louis-Paul Mfede, Jean-Claude Pagal; Francois Omam-Biyik, Cyril Makanaky.

Substitutions: Roger Milla for Maboang (46), Eugene Ekeke for Mfede (62).
Coach: Valery Nepomnyashchy.

Going into the game
Cameroon stunned the globe with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Argentina in their opening match, despite ending the game with only nine men following some robust challenges to halt the South Americans. The Indomitable Lions followed that shock success with a 2-1 triumph against Romania, where Roger Milla stepped off the bench to net twice and become the oldest scorer in the history of the tournament – a record he still holds after getting on the score-sheet again in 1994.

With progression already assured, Cameroon slumped to a 4-0 defeat to the Soviet Union in their final Group B outing, but returned to winning ways in a tense last-16 clash with Colombia. Extra time was needed to separate the sides, with super-sub Milla again scoring twice, helped by some wayward goalkeeping from the eccentric Rene Higuita.

England’s path to the quarter-finals could not match the drama and intrigue of their African opponents, particularly during their Group F campaign, where a grand total of seven goals were scored by the four teams over six matches, and only one fixture did not end all square. An opening 1-1 draw with Republic of Ireland for Bobby Robson’s side was followed by a 0-0 stalemate against the Netherlands, leaving everything resting on the Three Lions’ final clash with Egypt, where central defender Mark Wright was the unlikely goalscoring hero.

Defences were again to the fore in the last-16 meeting with Belgium, as England left it until the very end of added time before substitute David Platt hooked a volley beyond Michel Preud’homme, to spark a touchline jig of joy from Robson.

Hitherto head-to-head record
This was the first meeting between England and Cameroon.

The game
Despite having four goals to his name, the headline-grabbing Milla was again left on the bench by Valery Nepomnyashchy, with Cameroon then finding themselves a goal down midway through the first period, as Platt powerfully headed home Stuart Pearce’s precise left-wing cross.

Inevitably introduced at the interval, Milla made an immediate impact, as he was felled by a clumsy challenge Paul Gascoigne to allow Emmanuel Kunde to score from the spot in the 61st minute. And just four minutes later, the African side were ahead, Milla the creator once again as he set up fellow substitute Eugene Ekeke for a neat, dinked finish over Peter Shilton.

With the clock ticking down and the tension rising around the Stadio San Paolo, there was a further twist as Lineker was brought down on the edge of the box by Benjamin Massing, with the England striker picking himself up to send Thomas N’Kono the wrong way from the penalty spot.

Extra-time beckoned, with Cyril Makanaky causing havoc down the right and testing England’s resolve, only for the mercurial Paul Gascoigne to unlock Cameroon’s defence with a through-ball which sent Lineker racing clear, only to be clipped by N’Kono as he attempted to round the goalkeeper. The No10 again dusted himself off and this time opted for power to send England through, ending the Indomitable Lions’ unprecedented World Cup journey.

Quotes
“At one time I thought we were on the plane home. They were the better team when they went ahead, but it was a see-sawing saga of a match. We pulled it out of the fire and I don’t really know how.”
Bobby Robson

“I don’t want to get into a debate about the England match, but when I look back on it now there are a few regrets. I’m convinced we could have gone all the way.”
Roger Milla

“I always practised the same penalty, over and over the week before, in case I got one, and I hit that same one. Before the Cameroon game, when a lot of the press were at training, I deliberately practised a penalty I wouldn’t take. And the Cameroon goalkeeper went exactly that direction!”
Gary Lineker

“I had to learn fast how to handle the media and so did my friends and family back home. One newspaper ran a column titled, ‘Twenty things you didn’t know about David Platt’. I didn’t know most of them myself.”
David Platt