Netherlands 3-1 Cameroon, as it happened: Miedema brace takes the Dutch through to knockouts
Follow the live score and updates from a Group E match between Netherlands and Cameroon in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019.
Published : Jun 15, 2019 18:02 IST
Hello and welcome to Sportstar's live blog of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019. I'm Lavanya . Welcome back to our LIVE coverage of the Women's World Cup. I have had a productive afternoon so far. Even managed to sneak into the Cricket World Cup LIVE blog that my colleague Aashin is handling. (Sneaky, am I right?) Netherlands takes on Cameroon in Valenciennes today and I am excited to see what music the crowd plays over the result of the match, to be honest. But let's head right into LIVE action. For the match centre and statistics, watch this space. |
Follow the action LIVE: There is another game tonight so make sure you come back here for that one. Canada takes on New Zealand in Grenoble later tonight. I will see you then. Until then, it's goodbye!
This has been a brilliant game. A boisterous atmosphere and an absolutely dominant performance from the Dutch has taken them through to the knockouts. Will they top the group? We will have to wait and watch for that one.
| FT NETHERLANDS 3-1 CAMEROON |
2 minutes added time. Two minutes separate a roaring Dutch victory and a confirmation of their Round-of-16 qualification. I can only imagine the orange wave that is going to seep through the streets of Valenciennes. What an evening for these women and their fans.
| Four of the Netherlands' seven Women's World Cup goals have come after the 85th minute has elapsed . |
85' Knockout qualification is all but in the bag for Netherlands. Miedema receives the ball on the left and runs unmarked again into the Cameroon box. It's an easy kick from there. What a star. 60th goal for Netherlands for her. This makes her the country's all-time highest scorer. The Cameroon coach, Alain Djeumfa is distraught as MIEDEMA SCORES! 81' CLOSE! Huge chance for Cameroon! Terrific run by Onguene tobeat Bloodworth and pull the ball to Akaba in the six-yard box, buther shot is deflected narrowly wide of the post. It looked likethat was heading into the back of the net. Netherlands looks like it will walk away from this game if given an opportunity to, right now! The girls are visibly tired, the energy on the field is low, even from the Cameroon end. This dip is affecting the latter more as the girls in green desperately need a goal to equalise.
| Cameroon's goal was the first goal the Netherlands conceded in 443 minutes of play (the last one - March 6, vs China). |
Cameroon is being difficult for the Dutch in the midfield. Some good football there but they also need to find a way to get past the Orange line and score.
| Fun fact: Miedema's header opened the Dutch scoring and Bloodworth capitalised giving the Oranje a one-goal lead. This is the first time Netherlands has scored more than once in a Women's World Cup game. |
If Netherlands holds on to this scorecard, it is through to the Round of 16 and joins England, Italy, Germany and France. Jill Roord is in now. Will we see another goal? Can Cameroon equalise? Under 20 minutes of play remains. 64' In 19 previous encounters between African and European sides at theWomen’s World Cup, only two African teams have managed to securevictory (D2 L15) though one of them was Cameroon (2-1 v Switzerlandin 2015) and Nigeria (2-0 Denmark in 1999). The European champions are looking uncharacteristically quiet here. We need a pace pick up if we want a game tonight. Cameroon looks tired.
The games gotten a little slow now. Where are the lively trumpets? They are there. Terribly low on volume though. The supporters need some incentive from the girls in the middle. 56' There have been quite a few fouls throughout the game that are stopping it from flowing freely. Cameroon is keeping the ball well at the moment, but is rushing its final ball in attacking positions. 54' Neither team is able to get the ball down and control it at the moment, it's switching between the two sides, with Netherlands trying to break forward on the counter and catch Cameroon off guard as it pushes forward in search of another equalising goal. Can we talk about that Bloodworth goal for a minute? Where was the Cameroon defense? The danger-woman was as unmarked as she could be and there was no faulting from her when the shooting distance was hardly 2 yards. Costly strategy loopholes for Cameroon. Delight for the Dutch.51' The Dutch fans are ruthlessly vocal. Boos for Onguene after she stays down after another tackle. She's got pain written on her face. The Cameroon manager is insisting that an elbow went into the chest of his player, but nothing is given by the officials. 48' BLOODWORTH makes it two for the Dutch! Optimised that free-kick there. 2-1 Netherlands!
47' Free-kick to Netherlands in a good position after Van de Donk is fouled and Spitse is going to take it. This is the even contest I was talking about! Go girls! If you're a Dutch supporter and can't seem to settle for the spirit of the game, you still have the stands. You guys are winning the support game by light years. Netherlands took the lead on 41 minutes with Miedema powering the ball into the back of the net after a diving header, following an excellent cross into the area by Van de Sanden. However, Cameroon responded straight away, with Onguene breaking through on goal, roudning Van Veenendaal and then slotting the ball into the back of the net.
| HT NETHERLANDS 1-1 CAMEROON |
43' GOOOAAALLL! Cameroon has levelled, it's 1-1! Netherlands led for just two minutes, with Cameroon responding in the best fashion. Onguene was played through on goal after a long ball over the top of the defence, she gets to the ball just ahead of Van Veenendaal, then slots the ball into the back of an empty net. And the lead is undone and how.
| Vivianne Miedema has scored 59 goals for the Netherlands and isnow joint all-time top goal scorer of the Netherlands Women's team(with Manon Melis). |
41' GOOOOOOOAL. Miedema nets one for the Dutch. I don't think we are ever getting early goals from Netherlands. The team loves the drama. The supporters are not complaining.
This bunch of Dutch supporters are not to be messed with. The cheers are loud, the boos louder. 37' What is happening? Another woman in orange has been knocked down. The busiest person in this entire stadium right now is the Dutch physio. Mbeleck is booked after a high tackle on Groenen, with her foot appearing to strike the face of her opponent. 34' Van Lunteren is back on the pitch at right-back and she appears to have shaken off that knock. Netherlands will be hoping to break the deadlock before the half-time whistle here, but it is really being frustrated at the moment. She is being given the concussion test. Van Lunteren has tears running down her face. The collision and that landing on her shoulder looked incredibly painful.
NASTY FALL THERE. Replays and the slow motion make everything look 10x painful than they might actually be. Is it fair to say that the Dutch are being a little sloppy now? Cameroon is creating chances here and marginally higher than what the Dutch are able to manage. Time to concentrate perhaps? Where is my Wiegman meme template? 26 ' The Netherlands aren't having this game all of their own way at the moment, with Cameroon really starting to push forward and test the European Champions defence. It's very open right now. Our search for music took us back to the likes of Ricky Martin from the 90s. I grew up on his music. Oh, the nostalgia. Also, foot-tapping music like this does you no good when you have to sit in one place and work. Sigh. It's been a LOOONG day for us here in the Sportstar newsroom. We have two cricket games, two hockey games and we now have two football matches that the team is bringing you to, LIVE. Of course, our go-to energy sources are food and music. We found a few old FIFA anthems and football songs to groove to and get our rhythm back. Do you have any suggestions for us? Netherlands has started strong. The energy in the stands seems to be infectious.
Manie got quite the lecture there from the referee. 14' Early yellow card for Cameroon captain Manie, after her late challenge on Van de Donk. Cameroon has been generous with possession so far. I find myself missing Vanina Correa for some reason. She was absolutely brilliant in the game against England last night. Read all about it here. There are times when I sit down and wonder why I don't play more often. I am horrifyingly bad at football. The last time I decided to confidently kick a ball, it did NOT land inside the goalpost. Safe to say that my relationship with the goalkeeper was ruined for a while, on medical grounds. But sport in general is thrilling and scary due to the element of risk. One minute you're on top of your game, next minute your face is tasting the grass. I can't turn off my clumsy to save my life so I am going to stick to blogging and cheering from the touchline. Vivianne Miedema takes a hit almost immediately after kickoff. Medics are on the field. That looks insanely painful. 1' KICK OFF. I really don't think we are going to have an atmosphere like this even in the final. Not unless the Dutch make it through. Oh it will be a carnival then! Netherlands has made just one change to the side that beat New Zealand, with Dekker replacing Van der Gragt who drops out with an injury. Roord is still on the bench despite scoring the winning goal in the opening game. Cameroon has made changes , with Enganamouit, Ngo Mbeleck and Abam all coming into the starting XI, with Ngono Mani, Nchout and Awona dropping to the bench. It's a sea of orange here! What a crowd. Valenciennes is very close to Belgium and Netherlands and it feels like a home game for the girls in orange. Fantastic atmosphere. Cannot wait for the trumpets to come out and belt those pop numbers. Life took away Grumpy Cat but gave us Sarina Wiegman instead. She is such a mood! I am working on a Saturday and will be spending a good amount of time glued to my seat with the blog. My back is making that face. Cameroon suffered a 1-0 defeat to Canada in its opening group game, to leave it needing to pick up some points today, especially if Canada beats New Zealand later tonight.
Netherlands can secure a place in the knockout stages with a victory today, after it beat New Zealand 1-0 last time out, thanks to a stoppage time winner by Jill Roord.
TEAM NEWS Netherlands: Van Veenendaal, Van Lunteren, Bloodworth, Dekker, Van Es, Spitse, van de Donk, Groenen, van de Sanden, Miedema, Martens. Cameroon: Ngo, Feudjio, Leuko, Manie, Johnson, Meffometou, Abam, Yango, Ngo Mbeleck, Onguene, Enganamouit. Referee: Casey Reibelt (Australia) |
The points table changes a little now after that brilliant game. Here are the updated figures.
Last night was something else with two teams making it through to the knockout stages. England and Italy went home with not just 3 valuable points from their respective wins, but also with a secure spot in the Round of 16.
In case you missed the games yesterday, catch up with all the action here.
Hello and welcome everyone!
Match number 1 takes us to the beautiful city of Valenciennes, where Netherlands will take on Cameroon in a few minutes. Before we head into LIVE action, let's take a look at the form of the two sides.
If you're new to the Women's World Cup bandwagon, we have resources to help you catch up with the tournament. Here's a starting point: