Gabrielle Onguene came off the bench to grab a brace which saw Cameroon defeat a stubborn Thailand in a 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off on Saturday (18 February) at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton.
The result sets up a date between the Indomitable Lionesses and Portugal for a spot in the global finals, which run from 20 July to 20 August in Australia and New Zealand.
After a goalless first half where the Asian side looked threatening, Onguene entered the fray in the 73rd minute and took the matters into her own hands.
She didn’t take time to settle and fired two quick goals (79th, 82nd) to secure her country’s spot in the next round of the play-offs, keeping alive another appearance at the World Cup.
Their date with destiny is on Wednesday (22 February) at the same venue against Portugal.
The African side, however, had to ride out a nervy period at the end of the match when, following a VAR review, goalkeeper Ange Bawou was sent off for a dangerous challenge.
With all the substitutions completed by the Indomitable Lionesses, forward Tatiana Ewodo Ekogo was forced to take over the gloves and, with her teammates, managed to deny Thailand any comeback.
The victory was Cameroon’s first against Asian opposition, and the West African side has now kept eight clean sheets in their last 13 matches.
They have a huge task ahead of them as they come face to face with Portugal, who defeated New Zealand 5-0 in a friendly on Friday (17 February) as a warm up to the play-offs.
Jessica Silva opened the scoring in the 17th minute before captain Dolores Silva increased the lead three minutes from the break from the penalty spot.
On the other side of the first half, Ana Capeta made the tie safe with two goals in four minutes (63rd , 69th) while Tatiana Pinto completed the rout in the 79th minute.
With this victory, the Europeans extend their winning streak to seven matches, and have scored in each of the last 13 fixtures, making this a very difficult match in prospect for the Indomitable Lionesses.
Success for Cameroon means five African countries will be part of the 32 teams at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup following the qualification of South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Zambia.
FIFA WORLD CUP PLAY-OFF – CAMEROON vs THAILAND
Goals:
Gabrielle Onguene 79′, 82′
Player of the Match: Gabrielle Onguene
By Matlhomola Morake
