Rumi Utsugi of Japan and Francine Zouga of Cameroon
Japan beat Cameroon (their first time facing an African team at the WWC) to be the first team to qualify for the round of 16. But the scoreline doesn’t reflect the fight that Cameroon put up. They certainly didn’t make it easy on Japan.
Lineups
Japan: Kaihori, Kinga, Iwashimizu, Kumagai, Sameshima, Sakaguchi (Sawa 64′), Miyama (C), Kawasumi (Ohno 55′), Utsugi, Sugasawa (Kamionobe 85′), Ogimi
Cameroon: Ngo Ndom, Manie (C), Leuko, Onguene (Ejangue 72′), Feudjio, Ngono Mani (Nchout 62′), Yango, Meffometou Tcheno, Bou Ndjouh, Enganamouit, Ngo Mbeleck (Zouga 46′)
Love the little leg up action Les Lionnes are rocking for the picture.
Aya Sameshima started the scoring early at 6′ on a cross from Nahomi Kawasumi.
Just 11 minutes later, Yuika Sugasawa headed home a corner kick from Aya Miyama.
Gaëlle Enganamouit and Madeleine Ngono Mani had some good chances for Cameroon. Japan held strong in the 71st minute against two successive attempts from Ajara Nchout before Gabrielle Onguene shot wide of the goal. Third time was the charm for Ajara Nchout as she finally got one past Ayumi Kaihori at the near post.
Gaëlle Enganamouit stopped hearts when she nearly tied the score during the waning seconds of the match. Her header came within inches of going in. Amazing ending and Cameroon can certainly hold their heads up high with their performance against the reigning world champions. Enganamouit is turning into a rock star – the fans are loving her, no matter what team they’re rooting for. It’s understandable, she’s hella impressive.
Quotes
Norio Sasaki, Japan coach
We were solid at the back today. It was a tight and pretty intense game and we managed to get something out of it, even if we were a little bit hesitant at times in the second half. The Cameroonians are quick on their feet and physically tough and they threw everything at us in the closing stages. Skill levels are increasing around the world and teams are all getting closer and closer to the top level. We know that there will come a day when there are no easy games at all.Enow Ngachu, Cameroon coach
We’ve played against the reigning world champions and we’ve learned a lot. We’re going away satisfied, even if we could have equalised right at the end. We reorganised after they went 2-0 up and that gave us a little bit of stability. It’s a shame we couldn’t pick up a point because it would have been useful, though I’m happy with our performance because we’ve shown what we’re capable of, especially after the break. It would be fantastic for our country to reach the last 16 and we’ll be giving our all to make that happen, though the match we’ve got coming up against Switzerland will be very tough.
Highlights
Next matches
Tuesday, June 16 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Ecuador vs. Japan
Switzerland vs. Cameroon
– Lozil
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