Cameroon have not lost a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations group-stage match since 2014.
The last team to beat them was Ghana.
The Black Queens won 1-0 against a Cameroon side who had already secured their place in the semi-finals. Since that defeat, the Indomitable Lionesses have played ten group matches: seven wins and three draws.
They meet again in Casablanca on Sunday.
Both teams have three points after winning their opening matches. Ghana defeated Cape Verde 2-0 and Cameroon beat Mali 2-1. The result will determine who finishes the second round of fixtures at the top of Group D, while victory could secure a place in the quarter-finals if the later meeting between Mali and Cape Verde ends in a draw.
Ghana dominated without making it count
Ghana needed six minutes to take the lead against Cape Verde.
Doris Boaduwaa received a pass from captain Portia Boakye and scored the Black Queens’ first goal of the tournament. Ghana continued to attack, but none of their players found the net again.
The second goal was an own goal by Eleia Vieira.
Ghana finished with 26 attempts, six on target and 3.13 expected goals. They scored only once themselves. Fourteen of their attempts came in the second half, but only one was on target.
The match extended a problem that had already appeared during their preparations. The Black Queens dominated their friendly against Tanzania but were held to a goalless draw. They secured the victory against Cape Verde, although they again needed too many chances to settle the match.
Cameroon will offer a different kind of resistance. Cape Verde made 51 clearances and provided almost no threat at the other end; the Indomitable Lionesses had 67% possession in their opener and will try to challenge Ghana for control.
Cameroon found two goals from four shots on target
Cameroon attempted fifteen shots against Mali. Only four were on target.
Ngah Manga converted two of them.
The forward opened the scoring in the 14th minute after an assist from Monique Ngock and decided the match from the penalty spot in the 73rd. Between those two goals, Aïssata Traoré had equalised for Mali with another penalty.
The victory did not reflect complete superiority. Cameroon produced 1.31 expected goals compared with Mali’s 1.47 and committed seventeen fouls. The decisive difference was their ability to make the most of their limited clear openings.
Ngah Manga also provided the main uncertainty. The scorer of both goals went off injured in the 90+2nd minute. Her condition could affect an attack in which she scored both goals against Mali.
Six finals and no titles
Ghana and Cameroon have each reached three Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Neither has won one.
The Black Queens finished as runners-up in 1998, 2002 and 2006. Cameroon reached the final in 2004, 2014 and 2016. Both have spent much of their history close to the summit of African football, but always behind the teams who managed to win the competition.
Recent history favours Ghana. They finished third at the 2024 edition, while Cameroon failed to qualify for that tournament and needed the expansion to sixteen teams to enter this one.
The Indomitable Lionesses nevertheless retain one of the competition’s most consistent runs: ten consecutive group-stage matches without defeat.
The last team to beat them now stand in their way again.
Ghana vs Cameroon
Sunday, 2 August · 19:00 in Spain
Moulay Rachid Stadium, Casablanca
