Worldcup 1998 : ACN'98 - Burkina Faso 0 / Cameroon 1, February 7, 1998.

BURKINA FASO 0 / CAMEROON 1, February 7, 1998.

Cameroon squeaks by host in Africa Cup opener
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OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, February 7, 1998 (AP).

Favored Cameroon defeated Africa Cup of Nations hosts Burkina Faso 1-0 Saturday in the tournament's first match.

The underdog Stallions surrendered the game's only goal in the first half on a shot from Indomitable Lions' striker Alphonse Tchami, who smashed in a left cross from Salomon Olembe in the 19th minute.

Burkina Faso goalkeeper Ibrahima Diarra earlier made a brilliant save on a shot from Marc Vivien Foe, who broke through the Stallions' three-man defense.

Tchami missed a second opportunity before halftime and Cameroon seemed to have the match well under control until a few minutes before the final whistle, when the home team squandered three late chances to tie.

Cameroon, one of four World Cup contenders in the tournament, was playing without its injured star Patrick Mboma.

The team has struggled to regain the formthat took it to the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup, when the team was led by now-retired captain Roger Milla.

Last week, Cameroon lost 1-0 in a friendly away game against Ivory Coast, which is also a contestant in the 16-team African Cup.

Saturday's match followed a colorful, yet modest ceremony that offered few frills, as tribal dancers dressed in flowing wild animal costumes performed to throbbing drumbeats and sky-divers bearing flags of Africa's top soccer nations floated unsteadily to the ground.

Fans in half-filled Ouagadougou's August 4th Stadium fanned themselves in the merciless afternoon heat.

Compared to Friday's high-tech, synchronized opening spectacular at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, this demonstration was captivating yet unpolished.

Eight teams are playing the opening round of the Cup in Ouagadougou. The other eight are based in Burkina Faso's second city, Bobo Dialouso, where play opens Sunday with defending Cup champions South Africa matched against Angola and Ivory Coast meeting Namibia.