1990, a historic victory
By Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo. Published on August 26, 2024.
On June 8, 1990, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, in front of 73,780 spectators, the Cameroon football team led by Valeri Nepomniachi toppled a giant. Under enormous pressure against the Argentina team led by Diego Armando Maradona, one of the best players in the world at the time, playing 9 against 11, after a foul committed on Cyrille Makanaky, number 20 of the Cameroon team, at the 66th minute and 9 seconds of the second half—shortly after the substitution of Louis-Paul M'Fédé, number 10, by Thomas Libiih wearing number 15—François Omam-Biyik scored the winning goal that would forever mark the history of Cameroonian and world football.
This header, struck at 2.96 meters¹ above the ground as shown in this image, echoes the story of David and Goliath. This iconic image, which has gone around the world, recounts the victory that inspired the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon all the way to the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup. Cameroon thus became the first African team to reach this stage of the competition.
It is therefore a duty of memory to preserve this photo which, beyond its historical context, also presents clear aesthetic qualities.

Photograph taken during the 1990 FIFA World Cup. It shows the opening match Cameroon vs. Argentina in the second half, 66 minutes and 9 seconds. Photographer unknown. Source: fifa.com

Of photojournalistic style², composed of three planes in a landscape format, the image shows, in the background, stands filled with spectators, and in the foreground, three football players. One player, of Afro descent, is airborne, more than a meter above the green pitch, positioned in the upper central third vertical section, on the left side of the frame, wearing the colors of Cameroon and black boots. He is in a dynamic posture that captures a header on the ball about a meter from his head. This image presents a central viewing angle, with a depth of field indicating that the focus is centered on Omam-Biyik.
At the lower central third of the extreme left, a light-skinned man in Argentina's colors stands beneath the feet of the black footballer, eyes fixed on the airborne ball, trying to prevent what is happening. In the middle ground, at the lower central third of the extreme right, two other Argentine players in Argentine colors are on the ground at the far right. One is mid-stride, and the other is in a posture reminiscent of the contrapposto pose of the famous 5th-century BC Greek sculptor Polyclitus in his lost treatise The Canon. Both have their eyes absorbed by the scene happening in the air.
The middle ground shows, out of focus, another Argentine player behind whom advertising boards rise, as well as the horizontal sunlight dividing the spectators into three groups. This forms three bands of spectators that highlight the two foreground planes. Crossed by two perpendicular lines at the center, this triangular composition reveals the tension and the meteoric rise that the Cameroon football team would experience.
One can observe in this photograph a true mastery of composition; the balance of pastel colors is remarkable, and the subject is bathed in an atmosphere of blue and green tones, rendered by the pitch, players’ jerseys, and the pointillist color impressions of the spectators. The focal length or focus is set sharply on the action in the air, so the eye’s attention is immediately drawn to the airborne action and its close surroundings. The exposure time corresponds to an afternoon ambiance, and the isometry allowing sharpness of moving subjects is around 1600. The slightly asymmetrical framing, due to the scene’s motion, shows great technical mastery by the photographer and accentuates the imbalance of power between the two teams in favor of Argentina. There is an opposition between the raw power of the Cameroonian’s header and the worried looks of the Argentinians, emphasized by the complementary green color atmosphere contrasting the foreground and the clear line of the background.
In any case, the interpretation of this legendary and historic photo of Cameroon’s victory over Argentina reveals two fundamental values. The first is that in life, regardless of obstacles—be it storm, snow, wind, or swamp—they can be overcome with willpower, discipline, and work. The second is that every victory, no matter how small, must be celebrated. These victories give us the energy to keep going. Even though they were not considered underdogs, the journey of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon during this World Cup clearly illustrates these two truths.
2. Edited by Juliet Hacking, All About Photography: A Panorama of Masterpieces and Techniques, Flammarion Publishing, 2012.
Bibliography:
Edited by Juliet Hacking, Tout sur la photo : Panorama des chefs-d’œuvre et des techniques, Flammarion Publishing, 2012.
François Omam-Biyik, Mon But, SOPECAM edition, 2016.
https://lionindomptable.com/mondial-90-la-fiche-technique-du-match-argentine-cameroun/