FIFA Women’s World Cup playoffs: Lionesses sharpen claws ahead of Portugal cracker tomorrow.

The Indomitable Lionesses face Portugal in a crunch tie, to determine who between the two, qualifies for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The highly anticipated clash is scheduled to take place at the Hamilton Stadium in New Zealand.

Cameroon women’s national team target a win against their counterparts of Portugal. They will be hoping to inspire themselves from their 2-0 semi-final victory against Thailand to edge over the Seleccao das Quinas.  

Skipper Gabriel Aboudi Onguene is set to play a crucial role in Wednesday game. The CSKA Moscow forward put up an impeccable display after coming on as a second half substitute to score a braceagainst Thailand, scoring a second half substitute to score a brace. 

Following their victory over Thailand in the semi-final of the intercontinental playoffs tournament, the Indomitable Lionesses did not waste time to begin preparations for the grand finale against Portugal. The girls of Coach Gabriel Zabo put behind the excitement and resumed training a day after their triumph.

The team worked on several aspect of the game for an hour and thirty minutes. They also had video sessions yesterday morning before heading to the field to polish their preparation ahead of tomorrow’s game.

The aim of these training sessions is to come up with suitable offensive strategies to overcome their rivals with relative ease. They also worked on their defensive blocks on how to contain their opponent’s offensive prowess. The team is in good shape with no major injuries. The only major blow is the absence of goalkeeper Ange Bawou.

The Bayelsa Queens shot stopper in Nigeria women’s division, was sent off in their 2-0 win against Thailand. Despite the setback, the 2016 vice African champions are poised to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

It will be their third consecutive appearance at the global event. The Lionesses who participated at the 2015 and 2019 editions where they went on to reach the round of 16, have a daunting task ahead of them. Cameroon’s rivals, Portugal who recently demolished New Zealand 5-0 in a friendly, are considered a big threat. Portugal finished second in their qualifying group behind Germany, and Portugal.

They progressed to the UEFA playoffs defeating Belgium, and Iceland. They are seeking a maiden participation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. They are the highest ranked of the 10 nations featuring at the inter-continental playoff and will be keen on exerting their dominance to seal their spot.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand. It will be held from July 20, to August 20.