On Sunday, England and Cameroon will play their first match in the knockout phase of this world championship. The Lionesses of England are a big favorite against the Lionesses from Cameroon. Can they fulfill their favorite role just like in the group phase?
England:
The English women were crowned group winners with three wins from three competitions. In the opening match, neighboring Scotland was overrun in the first half. A striking penalty kick from the brand-new Lyon player Nikita Parris and a goal from the alert Ellen White brought a comfortable 2-0 lead. It was only when the English took the gas back in the second half that the chances for Scotland followed and, after the Scotsmen’s goal, there had to be defended with all their might to win the victory. Despite a flood of opportunities, the game against Argentina was also won with only one goal difference. England shot nineteen times of which seven on goal and missed a penalty in the first half. The decision was only made in the last half hour thanks to a goal from Jodie Taylor. The final match against the world champion of 2011 and number two in 2015 Japan was the hardest on paper. The Lionesses won this match 0-2 thanks to two goals from Ellen White, who recently earned a transfer to Manchester City.
England comes through the first place in the group in the upper quarter. Nothing more than a victory is expected from this confrontation with Cameroon, followed by more equal opponents. The winner of Norway-Australia awaits in the quarterfinals. If England could match her best performance ever (2015 World Cup semi-final), then it is probably against one of the two title favorites (France or America).
Cameroon:
For Cameroon this is the second participation in the world championship. With their first participation in 2015, they reached the eighth final after winning against Switzerland (2-1) and Ecuador (6-0) in the group, after which China was too strong in the knockout phase with 0-1. This time they have made it that far again, albeit with much more effort. The opening match was only 0-1 lost to number five in the FIFA ranking Canada. Especially in the second half, Cameroon had little to say and had to focus on the counter. Against the Oranje Leeuwinnen, the Indomitable Lionessess were able to come along a lot better and Gabrielle Onguene managed to take advantage of an estimation error by keeper Sari van Veenendaal just before the break. Although Cameroon lost 3-1, this goal would later prove to be of great value. Namely, in the final match, they beat New Zealand deep in injury time, Ajara Nchout scored both goals for her country in the 2-1 victory. The second goal in particular was of great beauty. After cutting out two opponents, she pushed the ball in the long corner with the final touch of the match. With this, she single-handedly sent Cameroon as one of the best numbers three, because on goal balance they ended up above Nigeria and Chile.
