England Football Online
  Page Last Updated 3 August 2017

Cameroun

 

 
789 vs. Korea Republic
790
791 vs. Sweden ~ 792 vs. Argentina
793 vs. Nigeria
~ 794 vs. Denmark
795 vs. Brazil

Sunday, 26 May 2002
Umbro Challenge Cup Friendly Match

England 2 Cameroon 2 [1-1]
 

Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe Sports Park, Midoridai, Suma-ku, Kobe, Japan
Attendance: 36,424;
Kick-off: 3.00pm local, 7.00am BST
Live on xx (UK) -
Commentator: xx

Cameroon - Samuel Eto'o (5), Geremi (25-yard free-kick 58)
England - Darius Vassell (12), Robbie Fowler (90+2)
Match Summary
England Squad
Cameroon Squad
no yellow or red cards
Results 2000-2005

England kicked-off. 97 minutes (49 & 48).

 

Match Summary

Officials from Japan

England

Type

Cameroon
Referee (black) - Yoshitsugu Katayama
43 (22 February 1959), FIFA-listed 1995.

Assistant Referees and Fourth Official - tbc.
  Goal Attempts  
  Attempts on Target  
  Hit Bar/Post  
  Corner Kicks Won  
  Offside Calls Against  
  Fouls Conceded  
- Possession -

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (15 May 2002) 12th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 7th
Colours: The 2002 Umbro away uniform - Dark red v-neck jersey with navy rear collar/cuffs trimmed with England flag, navy shoulder seams, white shorts with red side panel and navy seams, red socks with navy band, trimmed with England flag.
Capt: Michael Owen, third captaincy,
Gareth Southgate second half
Head Coach: Sven-Göran Eriksson, 54 (5 February 1948), appointed 30 October 2000, took post 12 January 2001.
15th match, W 8 - D 5 - L 2 - F 33 - A 14.
England Lineup
13 Martyn, A. Nigel, off 46th min. 35 11 August 1966 G

Leeds United AFC

23 17 GA
12 Brown, Wesley M. 22 13 October 1979 RB Manchester United FC 6 0
14 Bridge, Wayne M. 21 5 August 1980 LB Southampton FC 5 0
18 Hargreaves, Owen L. 21 20 January 1981
born in Canada
RM/LM FC Bayern München, Germany 6 0
5 Ferdinand, Rio G., off 46th min. 23 7 November 1978 CD Leeds United AFC 22 0
6 Campbell, Sulzeer J., off 46th min. 27 18 September 1974 CD Arsenal FC 46 0
19 Cole, Joseph J. 20 8 November 1981 CM West Ham United FC 6 0
8 Scholes, Paul, off 46th min. 27 16 November 1974 LM Manchester United FC 44 13
20 Vassell, Darius C., off 75th min. 21 13 June 1980 F Aston Villa FC 5 3
10 Owen, Michael J., off 46th min. 22 14 December 1979 F Liverpool FC 36 16
11 Heskey, Emile W.I., off 46th min. 24 11 January 1978 F

Liverpool FC

24 3
England Substitutes
22 James, David B., on 46th min. for Martyn 31 1 August 1970 G West Ham United FC 9 5 GA
2 Mills, Daniel B., on 46th min. for Scholes 25 18 May 1977 RM Leeds United AFC 7 0
15 Keown, Martin R., on 46th min. for Ferdinand 35 24 July 1966 CD Arsenal FC 43 2
16 Southgate, Gareth, on 46th min. for Campbell 31 3 September 1970 CD

Middlesbrough FC

49 1
17 Sheringham, Edward P., on 46th min. for Owen 36 2 April 1966 F Tottenham Hotspur FC 47 11
24 Sinclair, Trevor L., on 46th min. for Heskey 29 2 March 1973 CM West Ham United FC 5 0
9 Fowler, Robert B., on 75th min. for Vassell 27 9 April 1975 F

Leeds United AFC

25 7
unused substitutes: all named substitutes are used.
team notes: Teddy Sheringham came on for a record seventeenth substitution, overtaking Ian Wright's record.
For the first time, there have been five goals from a substitute in a single season.
Robbie Fowler is the second player to have scored three goals as a substitute, Michael Owen being the other player.
 
1st     4-3-3 Martyn -
Brown, Ferdinand, Campbell, Bridge -
Hargreaves, Cole, Scholes -
Heskey, Owen, Vassell.
2nd  4-4-2 James -
Brown, Keown, Southgate, Bridge -
Mills, Cole, Sinclair, Hargreaves -
Sheringham, Vassell
(Fowler).

Averages:

Age 23.9 Appearances/Goals - -

 

Cameroon Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (15 May 2002) 17th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 19th to 20th
Colours: Made by Puma - Green sleeveless jerseys with yellow trim, red shorts, yellow socks with red trim.
Capt: Rigobert Song Manager: Winfried Schafer, 52 (10 January 1950 in Germany), appointed 15 September 2001,
Cameroon Lineup
1 Boukar, Alioum, off 78th min. 30 3 January 1972 G Samsusnpor Kulubu, Turkey 48 GA
2 Tchato Mbiayi, Bill J. 27 14 May 1975 LB Montpellier-Herault SC, France 24 1
3 Wome, Pierre N., off 60th min. 23 26 March 1979 LM Bologna FC 1909, Italy 54 1
4 Song Bahanag, Rigobert, off 68th min. 25 1 July 1976 CD 1. FC Köln 01/07, Germany 67 2
5 Kalla Nkongo, Raymond K., off 55th min. 27 22 April 1975 RB CF Extremadura, Spain 58 2
12 Lauren, off 58th min. 25 19 January 1977 CM Arsenal FC, England 22 1
17 Foe, Marc-Vivien, off 53rd min. 27 1 May 1975 CM Olympique Lyonnais, France 57 8
8 N'jitap Fotso, Geremi S, off 65th min. 23 20 December 1978 RM

Real Madrid CF, Spain

49 1
9 Eto'o Fils, Samuel, off 58th min. 21 10 March 1981 F RCD Mallorca SAD, Spain 28 11
10 Mboma Dem, H. Patrick, off 66th min. 31 15 November 1970 F Sunderland AFC, England on loan from SSD Parma Calcio 1913, Italy 49 27
20 Olembe-Olembe, R. Salomon, off 53rd min. 21 8 December 1980 CM FC de Nantes Atlantique, France, on loan from Olympique de Marseille, France 49 6
Cameroon Substitutes
19 Djemba Djemba, Eric D., on 53rd min. for Foe 21 4 May 1981 M FC de Nantes Atlantique, France 7 0
23 Ngom Kome, Daniel A., on 53rd min. for Olembe 21 19 May 1980 M CD Numancia de Soria SAD, Spain 13 0
13 Mettomo, Lucien, on 55th min. for Kalla 25 19 April 1977 D Manchester City FC, England 23 1
14 Epalle Newaka, Joel D.M., on 58th min. for Lauren 24 20 February 1978 M AS Aris Thessaloniki, Greece 27 2
18 Suffo Kengne, Patrick, on 58th min. for Eto'o 24 17 January 1978 F CD Numancia de Soria SAD, Spain, on loan from Sheffield United FC, England 27 4
6 Njanka-Beyaka, Pierre D., on 60th min. for Wome 27 15 March 1975 D RC de Strasbourg Alsace, France 33 2
15 Alnoudji, Nicolas, on 65th min. for Geremi 22 9 December 1979 M Caykur Rizespor Kulubu, Turkey 17 0
11 Ndiefi-Sielenu, Pius, on 66th min. for Mboma 26 5 July 1975 F CS Sedan Ardennes, France 19 3
7 Ndo, Joseph C., on 68th min. for Song 26 28 April 1976 M Al-Khaleej Club of Saihat, UAE 21 0
16 Songo'o, Jacques C., on 78th min. for Alioum 38 17 March 1964 G

FC de Metz, France

69 0
unused substitutes: 21-Joseph-Desire Job, 22-Carlos Kameni.
team notes: Geremi's free-kick is the twentieth direct free-kick England have conceded.
 
3-5-2 Boukar (Songo'o) -
Kalla
(Mettomo), Song (Ndo), Tchato -
Geremi
(Alnoudji), Lauren (Epalle), Foe (Djemba Djemba), Olembe (Ngom Kome), Wome (Njanka) -
Mboma
(Ndiefi), Eto'o (Suffo).

Averages:

Age - Appearances/Goals - -

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

 

Source Notes

England's World Cup preparations ended in stalemate as Cameroon emphasised the African threat in impressive style in Kobe. Sven-Göran Eriksson was grateful for substitute Robbie Fowler's late equaliser after a performance that left more questions than answers. But at least Eriksson will be relieved that he suffered no more injuries, with the opener against Sweden on the horizon.  Geremi's brilliant free-kick gave the Indomitable Lions the chance to become the first African side to beat England. But Fowler's leveller with virtually the last touch of a low-key encounter salvaged England's pride.  Cameroon took an early lead through Samuel Eto'o, but Aston Villa's Darius Vassell gave Eriksson a timely lift with another demonstration of his swift adjustment to international football with a quick equaliser.  England struggled to make an impact on a Cameroon side that mixed silk and steel to great effect.

Eriksson will have been concerned in particular about England's uncertainty at the back.  The coach was again forced to reshuffle his starting line-up as injuries cast an increasing shadow over his World Cup countdown.  Joe Cole started in central midfield, with Manchester United's Wes Brown handed an opportunity to stake his claim for the right-back spot.  England's re-shaped side were still in the early period of adjustment when Cameroon took the lead after four minutes.

It was a goal that will have posted a warning to watching Mick McCarthy, whose Republic of Ireland side face Cameroon in the group stages. Patrick Mboma's raking pass caught out Brown on England's right flank, and when Pierre Wome's cross rebounded off the post, Eto'o slammed a powerful finish past Nigel Martyn.
England's response was swift and decisive - and Vassell continued the goal-laden start to his international career with the equaliser seven minutes later.  Paul Scholes, as against Korea Republic, played a key role as creator with a through ball which Vassell controlled before steering past Boukar Alioum.  England captain Michael Owen thought he had put his side in front when he bundled home from close range after Cameroon keeper Alioum fumbled Heskey's header, but he was ruled offside. Cameroon looked slicker in their approach work and stronger physically than England, worrying factors for Eriksson with the opener against Sweden a week away.

Real Madrid star Geremi was narrowly off target with a trademark long range free-kick on the stroke of half-time - but it was only a brief reprieve for England.  Eriksson made the usual host of interval changes, and the fresh faces were left chasing the game when Cameroon restored their advantage after 57 minutes.  Subsititute Gareth Southgate was penalised for handball under challenge from Mboma, and this time Geremi made no mistake with a 25-yard right-foot free-kick that flashed past replacement goalkeper David James.  England almost equalised after 73 minutes but Trevor Sinclair - back in the side after his latest flight from England - had a goalbound header brilliantly saved by Alioum.
Eriksson immediately replaced Vassell with Leeds United striker Fowler, who was desperate for action after recovering from a hip injury.  And he almost announced his arrival with an immediate goal - but he was inches away from a decisive touch when Teddy Sheringham headed Sinclair's excellent cross across the face of goal.  Fowler had better luck with a close-range header in the dying seconds - again from a Sheringham header - to at least save England from the disappointment of defeat.

TheFA.com
BBC Football
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks
F.A. Yearbooks
____________________

CG