Sport is full of success, disappointment, victory and togetherness, but none of that was shown by the Cameroon team on their way out of the Women’s FIFA World Cup. Even after the final whistle, their ridiculous antics were carried into the press conference by head coach Alain Djeumfa.
Key Events: (Minute of game)
Yvonne Leuko clearly slaps Nikita Parris on the face, but only shown a yellow card. (4′)
Augustine Ejangue clearly passes the ball back to the keeper, who picks it up, resulting in an indirect free-kick. (12′)
The following two minutes see the Cameroon players argue about the decision, and England player Toni Duggan is spat at by Ejangue. Eventually Steph Houghton scores for England from the indirect free-kick. (14′)
Just as half-time approaches England’s Ellen White scores a goal, which is disallowed for offside. Once checked via VAR, the goal is given. (45′)
Cameroon players refuse to continue as they believe they have been cheated, and the situation isn’t being helped by their coach. (45′)
Cameroon start the second-half well and score immediately. The goal is rightly chalked-off for offside, after viewing it on VAR. (49′)
The Cameroon players are devastated, and Ajara Nchout (the scorer of the goal) needs consoling by both her teammates and coach after being in tears. (49′)
Alex Greenwood scores after a well worked corner kick. (58′)
Penalty not given to England after a VAR check. (78′)
After a late and dangerous tackle, Alexandra Takounda is given a yellow card after a VAR check. (90’+9′)
Have a look at the amazing behaviour for yourself;
Were Cameroon right to be upset?
Absolutely no!
Leuko, Ejangue and Takounda should all have been sent off.
The England goal that was given, and the disallowed Cameroon goal were both correct decisions.
England should have been given a penalty.
Worst of all, after the game the Cameroon coach Alain Djeumfa came out and talked about the injustice that his team was subjected to, adding that he was proud of the passion his team showed in defeat.
What a load of rubbish!
Mr. Djeumfa clearly needs to get back to doing his coaching badges, and maybe start with the rules of the game as he doesn’t know them. I can understand the showing of blind support for your team, but when all the dust settles, I hope the Cameroon team as a whole, feel embarrassed by their behaviour and get fined accordingly for effectively sulking like a bunch of toddlers.
What about England?
A magnificent display by the Lionesses. The way they handled themselves throughout the game and during the press conferences were exemplary.
The only positive to be taken from a game that, for the lack of a better word, was a complete farce. So much so that former USA goalkeeper, Hope Solo, was trying to make excuses for the Cameroon team in what could only be described as a salvage act.
Unfortunately for England coach, Phil Neville, his team now have a nervous wait to see if Steph Houghton will recover from the brutal tackle against Cameroon in time to face Norway in the quarter-finals.
For Cameroon, it should back to the rule book. Hopefully they get through the whole thing without calling it quits.
All I keep hearing is how the men are “much better than the women.”
How the women “wouldn’t be able to compete with the men.”
If you are one of the people who keep doing this, then please take this moment to realise that you are simply an idiot.
You know who you are…
You see, all of the factors that make men “better” than women are simply based on genetics and nothing else.
The male body is designed to be faster and stronger than a woman’s. As football is a physical sport, these two major advantages are more than enough in helping males be “better” than females.
I simply cannot believe I am having to explain this…Sigh!
So, let’s take genetics out of this, and have a look at the entire game solely based on ability and knowledge.
Both men and women:
Understand the game equally well.
Train equally hard.
Play the same amount of time.
Use the same size pitches and goals.
Follow the same rules.
The only aspect in which men trump women is in decision making as they are more clinical in and around the opposition box.
However, women are more honest and don’t dive around as much. This aspect alone makes the game more entertaining as there’s no time wasting or “professionalism” as it’s referred to.
No mate, it’s just plain cheating.
Let’s call a spade, a spade.
If anything the women’s game has less stoppages simply because the players just get on with it.
Then there’s the people referring to USA’s thumping victory against Thailand as something that would never happen in the men’s game.
Actually, that’s not entirely true…
Yes, the 13-0 win for USA is a record victory in the Women’s World Cup, but that’s not too different to the 10-1 win for Hungary against El Salvador in the 1982 Men’s World Cup finals. What’s interesting is that the largest margin of victory during World Cup qualifying for the two sexes were the 21-0 victories attained by 4 different nations in the women’s game (Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Canada) all in the late 90’s, which is a colossal 10 goals fewer than what the Australian men notched up when they beat American Samoa 31-0, in 2001.
So don’t tell me it doesn’t happen in the men’s game.
Is the Women’s World Cup worth watching?
Honestly, it’s been great so far.
As the group stages have come to a close, it’s clear that the women’s game has come a long way in the last four years alone. The physical nature of the players, their fitness levels and aggression is excellent. And these ladies can play.
The games between Australia and Brazil (3-2) and Germany against Spain (1-0) have been two of my favourites. Pure end to end football with no let-up by any team.
Now, I have to admit that I used to tune into the Women’s World Cup for the same reason I used to watch the African Cup of Nations (The major men’s continental tournament played amongst the African countries), the goalkeeping was shambolic.
Any Ideas who these goalkeepers are? (Via WikiCommons)
This time round though, I have been incredibly impressed with the goalkeepers. The Chilean keeper, Christiane Endler, has been unbelievable. Some of the saves she pulled off against the Americans were good enough to rival any male counterpart.
Moral of the article…
Stop being an idiot.
Instead of trying to come up with a reason to ridicule something, enjoy it for what it is. A good-old-fashioned game of football, played at a high level, by people who are proudly representing their nations for the entertainment of millions.
After all, football is a game for everyone, and that’s why we love it!
Last Saturday saw the European domestic season come to a close with Liverpool collecting their sixth Champions League trophy, officially making them the third-most successful club in the history of the competition (Real Madrid have 13 titles). Even though the game itself was nothing to shout about, the scenes at the final whistle were incredible. All of it was topped off with Liverpool players and fans singing the lyrics that the club is famous for…”You’ll never walk alone.”
One of those moments where as a sport’s fan, you can just sit-back, relax and enjoy the moment.
This final was preceded earlier on in the week by a much-better one between Chelsea and Arsenal. The game ended 4-1 to Chelsea and Eden Hazard put in a man-of-the-match performance in what was potentially his last game for the blues.
Now our attentions can turn to the international side of the English summer and that means the Nation’s League, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nation’s League (June 5th – 9th)
The inaugural season of the Nation’s League will come to an end this week. The first semi-final will be between the host nation Portugal, and Switzerland on Wednesday. The day after will see the Dutch play England. The two losing teams will compete in the 3rd/4th playoff while the two winners will be aiming to become the first ever winner. Both of those games will be played on Sunday.
FIFA World Ranking of Finalists:
England 4th
Portugal 7th
Switzerland 8th
Netherlands 16th
Now, anyone who knows about the ranking system, knows it’s not worth the paper it is written on, but in this case, with these four teams, it’s pretty accurate.
Yet, for many people, hosts Portugal will go into the finals as favourite. Not for me, though. Portugal had the easiest of the groups to qualify from, eliminating Poland and Italy. England had to surpass Spain and World Cup finalists Croatia. Switzerland eliminated Belgium and Iceland, while The Netherlands were the unlikely winners of a group containing World Champions France and Germany.
Funnily enough, what started as another money making scheme by yet another governing body in football – UEFA – has turned out to be quite a success. There are no longer that many boring friendly games where the coaches end up substituting the entire team at half-time. However, the demand on the players has grown.
But…they get paid a ton of money, so can’t feel too bad for them.
So who will win?
It’s a bit of a cliche, but any of the four nations could go down in history as the first winners. Switzerland, on their day can be a bit of a banana skin team to play. Portugal have the inform Bernardo Silva (Man City), Impressive youngster, Joao Felix (Benfica), and wait, I’m missing someone…
Oh yes…
The enigmatic, irreplaceable and magnificent Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus).
Any reason to put a picture of Cristiano (Via WikiCommons)
Yes, I like Cristiano a lot.
Traditionally, Portugal play well defensively, and that gives the attacking players a chance to win the game with a piece of brilliance.
In the two most recent games played between Portugal and Switzerland, the home side ended up winning 2-0 on both occasions. in 2016, Switzerland took the victory, while a year later Portugal was triumphant.
Portugal have only lost once in the last 15 games – to Uruguay in the World Cup quarter-final – while Switzerland’s form is not so convincing with four defeats in the last nine games played.
The second semi-final will likely be the more entertaining one between England and The Netherlands. The last three games involving the Dutch has seen 13 goals scored, with England scoring five times in each of the last two games they’ve played.
Obviously we should all expect a goalless draw.
I genuinely think England will not only beat the Dutch, but go on to take the title, as long as they don’t crumble under the pressure as per usual. I have never tipped the English for anything in the past, but under coach Gareth Southgate, there’s a new found confidence, belief and togetherness amongst this group of young players. Something which was visible during World Cup and beyond.
FIFA Women’s World Cup (June 7th – July 7th)
When it comes to the topic of women’s football, there’s never a lack of ridiculous comments about how they’re not as good as the men.
Yes, maybe not as quick or strong, but the quality is there.
The be all and end all is that these ladies can play.
The month long tournament will give the home nation, France, a decent chance of replicating what the men’s team did a year ago in Russia. Historically, the French haven’t done very well in the World Cup (Semi-final once), and it’s unlikely that it will change this time round either, despite them being favourites.
Reigning Champions USA will once again be a force to be reckoned with the likes of Julie Ertz, Ashley Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and the experienced Carli Lloyd, who all won the tournament four years ago. Ertz is one of my favourite players to watch because of her ability to enforce her will on the opposition. She is tough, hard-working and very efficient once she has the ball. With her around, the team works well.
If world rankings are anything to go by then Germany – world ranking: 2 – have a chance. You see, the Germans have always performed well. They have reached the final three times; winning twice. In Dzsenifer Marozsan, they will have a player with the ability to dominate games and provide the kind of momentum that the forwards can live off.
Can England add to the summer of success?
This is definitely the most unlikely chance the English have of celebrating a full-sweep. England, ranked 3rd in the world, have some greatly talented players. Fran Kirby is the most dangerous Lioness. She will be supported by Tony Duggan, Karen Carney and Jill Scott in attack, with Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton providing the experience defence.
Unfortunately for England, the last few warm-up games prior to the tournament have not really filled their fans with confidence. Unless they start to turn it around, the chances of them getting past the quarter finals will be a hard task.
So there you have it, an English summer is definitely upon us, starting with the Europa League last week, and ending with the Cricket World Cup final on July 14th. By that date, I expect many trophies to be coming home.
