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1-Boukar Alioum
(Samsunspor, Turkey), 28. Goalkeeper. Conceded three goals in five matches on the way to the final, having won a place in the absence of veteran Jacques Songo'o and William Andem. Started his career at Prevoyance Yaounde before moving to Turkey in 1995
4-Rigobert Song
(Liverpool, England), 23. Defender. Captain of the team who has been heavily critcised at the tournament for his over zealous tackling. Teammates call him "German" in recognition of his defensive efficiency.
5-Raymond Kalla
(Extremadura, Spain), 24. Defender. Powerful defender who has played at two World Cups and now at his second Nations Cup final. Scored a goal in the first round against the Ivory Coast in Accra.
6-Pierre Njanka
(Strasbourg, France), 24. Defender. Has had a solid tournament at the back for Cameroon and increased his international profile in the process. A surprise find by Claude LeRoy, former Cameroon coach, before the 1998 World Cup finals.
8-Geremi Fotso Njitap
(Real Madrid, Spain), 21. Midfielder. Has played effectively on the right-hand side for Cameroon throughout the tournament. This is his second major tournament already this year after playing for Real Madrid in the inaugural World Club Championship in Brazil in last month.
12-Laurent Mayer
(Mallorca, Spain), 22. Born in Cameroon but brought up in Spain and not able to communicate with most of his team mates, who know only English and French. Has, nevertheless, quickly become an integral part of the side and one of the stars of this Nations Cup.
17-Marc-Vivien Foe
(West Ham United, England), 24. Midfielder. Strong, midfield pivot for Cameroon, who scored the opening goal of the tournament and another in the quarter-final. Suffered a broken leg just before the 1998 World Cup finals and missed out on the tournament.
20-Salomon Olembe
(Nantes, France), 19. Midfielder. Ever-present in the qualifying campaign, as he was at the 1998 World Cup finals. Has played both in the starting line-up and as a substitute in this tournament.
7-Bernard Tchoutang
(Roda JC Kerkade, Netherlands), 23. Winger. Missed the two opening games for Cameroon but has since won back his place in the starting line-up by adding a wide dimension to the Cameroonian attack. Played club football in Turkey before moving to his Dutch club two years ago.
9-Samuel Eto'o
(Real Madrid, Spain), 19. Striker. Scorer of one of the goals in the semifinal for Cameroon and has taken over a starting berth from Joseph- Desire Job. A squad member at his club but has seen little action in their first team.
10-Patrick Mboma
(Cagliari, Italy), 29. Striker. Cameroon's key striker with three goals at the competition. His languid style sometimes suggest indifference during the goal but has explosive pace and a powerful shot. Raised in France where he started his career at Paris St Germain.
Coach: Pierre Lechantre
(France) |
1-Ike Shoronmu
(Besiktas, Turkey), 32. Goalkeeper. A broken wrist deprived Shoronmu of being Nigeria's first choice goalkeeper at the 1998 World Cup finals in France and he has proved at this tournament how badly he was missed. Moved to Turkey from FC Zurich in Switzerland last season.
3-Celestine Babayaro
(Chelsea, England), 21. Defender. Strong and fast left-sided full back, whose emergence into the team has also solved one of Nigeria's perennial positional weak points. Will return to England after the tournament to play in Chelsea's challenge for premier league title and the Champions League.
6-Taribo West
(AC Milan, Italy), 25. Defender. A lack of pace has caught him out at the Nations Cup finals a few times but he makes up for it with effective tackling. A flamboyant hairstyle, in the Nigerian national colors, has also made him a big crowd favorite.
21-Godwin Okpara
(Paris St Germain, France), 27. Defender. Was left out of the starting line-up at the beginning of the tournament but worked his way back into the team. Had a handful of caps before the 1998 World Cup finals but has been a regular for the Super Eagles ever since.
15-Sunday Oliseh
(Juventus, Italy), 25. Midfielder. Captain of the side who has overcome a bout of malaria during the tournament to take his place in the side. This will be his second final after playing for Nigeria's winning team against Zambia in Tunisia in 1994.
7-Finidi George
(Real Betis, Spain), 28. Midfielder. Has given another outstanding performance for Nigeria at this tournament, having won a gold medal in 1994 and bronze in Senegal in 1992. Scored arguably the goal of the tournament with a long-range drive against Morocco in the first round.
8-Mutiu Adepoju
(Real Sociedad, Spain), 29. Midfielder. Stand-in captain in the absence of Oliseh and another survivor from the 1994 winning team. Good midfield link-man who is Nigeria's longest-serving international.
10-Austin Okocha
(Paris St Germain, France), 26. Midfielder. Mercurial midfielder famous for his silky skills. Returns to the team after being suspended for the 2-0 semifinal win over South Africa in Lagos on Thursday after being sent off in the quarter-final against Senegal last Monday night.
13-Tijani Babangida
(Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), 26. Winger. Two brilliant goals against South Africa booked Nigeria's place in the final. Has been put on the transfer list at his Dutch club, but is likely to have many takers after his form at this Nations Cup tournament.
4-Nwankwo Kanu
(Arsenal, England), 23. Striker. Twice won Africa's Footballer of the Year award, first in 1996 when he captained the Atlanta Olympics gold-medal winning team and then again last December. Has yet to score at the Nations Cup finals but has been an integral part of the Nigerian march toward the final.
17-Julius Aghahowa
(Espérance, Tunisia), 19. Striker. Celebrates his birthday on Saturday and could get a place in the starting line-up after emerging as the new star of African football. Scored three goals in as many games as a late substitute, including two dramatic efforts to rescue his side from imminent defeat against Senegal in Monday's quarter-final.
Coach: Jo Bonfrere
(Netherlands) |