Holland Women vs Cameroon Women. Women's World Cup Group E.
Stade du HainautAttendance22,423.
Canada beat New Zealand to seal passage to knockout stages alongside Group E rivals Netherlands
Sunday 16 June 2019 10:20, UK
Vivianne Miedema scored twice to become Netherlands' all-time leading goalscorer as her side beat Cameroon 3-1 to reach the last 16 at the Women's World Cup.
Cameroon, playing the Netherlands for the first time in a competitive match, adopted a cautious approach at Stade du Hainaut, with five players in the back line and four in front of them for the majority of the game.
The tactics worked until a sweeping Dutch move in which Shanice van de Sanden's inch-perfect cross found Arsenal forward Miedema, who powered home a thumping header in the 41st minute.
Cameroon responded almost immediately as winger Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene timed her run perfectly to latch on to a long ball before beating goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal for an easy finish.
Netherlands, who beat New Zealand in their opening match, were back on the front foot in the second half after a cleverly-worked free-kick allowed centre-back Dominique Bloodworth to score her first international goal from close range.
Cameroon substitute Henriette Akaba came close to an equaliser in the closing stages before Miedema put the result beyond doubt with her 60th goal for the Netherlands as she overtook former striker Manon Melis to become their all-time top scorer.
Holland's record scorer Vivianne Miedema said: "It is something special, something I'm only going to live once and it's a special experience for me.
"It's a World Cup - you score a goal, so I think you can cheer and be a little crazy about it."
Canada booked their place in the last 16 of the Women's World Cup with a 2-0 win over New Zealand at the Stade des Alpes.
Captain Christine Sinclair had hit the crossbar during the first half before Jessie Fleming broke the deadlock soon after the restart in Grenoble.
Houston Dash forward Nichelle Prince capped an impressive individual display when she knocked in a late second from close range after Sinclair's header came back off the post.
Canada, hosts four years ago, opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Cameroon and progress to the knockout stages along with Holland, who they tackle next for top spot in Group E on June 20.
Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller felt his side had "reached another level" as they booked their last-16 place.
"We reached another level today in the way we got around some of their defensive structures.
"We have a very intelligent group of players who can switch between modes within games, and they did a very good job today."
