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It defeats Spain to become the second consecutive African nation to take the gold.
By Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 30, 2000
SYDNEY, Australia -- Pierre Wome scored the clinching penalty kick as Cameroon won the men's soccer title in a shootout, outscoring Spain 5-3 after the teams wound up tied at 2 after two overtimes.
If Wome was the hero of the game in Olympic Stadium, Ivan Amaya was the goat. He scored an own-goal to start Cameroon's comeback, then banged a penalty kick off the crossbar in the shootout.
The result meant Africa keeps the Olympic title after Nigeria's historic victory in 1996. Cameroon, known as the Indomitable Lions, came back from a 2-0 halftime deficit, then saved an early penalty kick.
The final, before approximately 100,000 at the Olympic Stadium, was a dramatic finale to a tournament that had plenty of thrills and solid soccer.
Spain took the lead in the second minute on a free kick by Zavi and made it 2-0 just before the half on a goal by Gabri.
Cameroon came back in the second half, with Amaya's own-goal -- the ball bounced off his face and into the Spanish net -- in the 53rd minute and a goal by Samuel Eto'o five minutes later.
Spain then was reduced to nine men after the ejections of Gabri and Jose Mari. It almost scored in the opening minute of overtime when Capdevila struck the outside of the post on a free kick.
Eto'o thought he won the game for Cameroon with seconds to go in the second overtime when he cleared the defense and shot home. But he was called for offside.
Cameroon won its first Olympic gold medal in any sport after reaching the final with last-gasp 2-1 victories over Brazil and Chile.
In the preliminary round, Cameroon tied the United States.
Cameroon won the African Nations Cup title this year.