The indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon will return to the arena for the final showdown between Australia and New Zealand at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Wednesday, February 22nd.
Gabriel Szabo’s team will have only one goal: to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be held in Australia and New Zealand, from 20 July to 20 August 2023.
With a 2-0 victory over Thailand, Cameroon are one step away from securing their ticket to the global final thanks to a brace from Gabriel Onguenye as the Central Africans continue their quest for a third consecutive season in the hall as an international mistress.
Therefore, the Cameroonians, ranked 58th in the world, have to negotiate with Portugal, ranked 22nd in the world, who are looking to make their debut on the world stage.
During their recent outings, the Cameroonians and the Portuguese have proven that they have all the tools of an idealistic globalist. This will be the first international meeting at a high level between Cameroon and Portugal. The Portuguese are the tenth European team the Indomitable Lionesses have faced in their history.
Selecção das Quinas’ side have scored 16 goals in their last six competitive matches, while Francisco Neto’s side have run an impressive seven-game winning streak.
the last against New Zealand. The Portuguese crushed Fougères 5-0. A generous attack will face a strong defence. Indeed, Cameroon is a well-established team. In their last 13 matches, the Indomitable Lionesses have kept eight clean sheets. Hinge Awona-Johnson, who has been around since the 2019 Women’s World Cup, makes her experience and authority speak at the heart of the green, red and yellow defence.
On the left side, Portuguese Jessica Silva is the centerpiece of Francisco Neto’s playing system. Dynamic and combative, the Vila Nova native has been the face of the Seleção for 12 years and everyone knew from the time she arrived in New Zealand for this play-off tournament that she would be the strong link in the Portugal team.
The ‘Queen of the Little Bridge’ as she is called in her native country, Silva intends to draw on all her qualities to finally inspire her country in the biggest women’s football competition in the world.
On June 20, 2019 in Montpellier, Agara Ngoya Nchot scored one of the best goals in the history of the World Cup. Nachot dribbled past her markers to score the goal that qualified the Lionesses for the round of 16 of the competition, in the dying seconds of the match against New Zealand.
Should we take it as a sign of fate? The indomitable Lioness winger will seek a new qualification for his native country on New Zealand soil. At 30, the Foumban native will try to put her experience to good use.
Her attacking qualities are highlighted on the counter-attack, her ability to score in any position and her one-touch recovery makes her one of the best finishing strikers in the world.
what are they saying
“For me, it’s 50-50. Experience plays in favor of the Cameroonians but we also have arguments to make and we’ll do everything we can to get our ticket. It’s one last chance to go down in history. It will change everything for us.” Dolores Silva, captain of the Portugal national team
“Speaking of the possibility of us qualifying, we never thought, once of not qualifying, we always thought of qualifying for the third consecutive Women’s World Cup.” Cameroon coach Gabriel Szabo
