It’s the English big cats who advanced to the last eight in France’s second’ Lionesses Derby’ in 2019. The temperature grew several times in an astonishingly hot early afternoon match at the Stade du Hainaut, but England was cool to achieve the Q4 finals.

“I think as England players we remained calm, we didn’t get involved in anything and we’re through to the quarter-finals. For the goal, I saw a little gap, tried to use the technique that I’ve got – and practice every day in training – and I got it through.”
Steph Houghton, Visa Player of the Match

After an indirect free kick after a backpass Steph Houghton’s opener had been rejected by Ellen White before this choice was reversed after consultation with VAR. After that, a well-trained corner was taken by Alex Greenwood to cast doubt on the consequence. Le Havre is the next stop on the hand of Phil Neville.

“It’s perhaps a little too early in the day to say things right away. I want to look at the positives as well as the negatives that have prevented us from making it through to the last 16. We’re going to try and work on all of this for future tournaments and try to improve the game in Cameroon as a whole.”
Alain Djeumfa, Cameroon coach

England has finished five consecutive World Cup women’s matches–a fresh Lionesses record. Each version of the worldwide championships in which they participated also came to the quarter-finals.

In semifinals, resilience, cool heads, and patience enabled England to reserve its position in the final. The players of Phil Neville addressed Cameroon’s complete range of difficulties, who were very excellent forward-looking.

“We’re concerned about her, she’s not someone that stays down. It was a late tackle and we’re going to have to do everything possible to get her fit for the quarter-final. She’s a big player for us, our captain. Her and Lucy Bronze were outstanding tonight – your big players stand up on the big occasions. I thought the composure of those two spread through the team.”
Phil Neville, England coach on Steph Houghton’s injury

The strength of the team was a guiding force for success and helped each other to keep centered and see the play through in the presence of adversity. Jill Scott’s midfield marshalling and Lucy Bronze’s management were among the achievements of England, while Lucy Staniforth marked her debut at World Cup, and Ellen White took a second step to become a Golden Boot candidate. Britain will be able to discover places for improvement, including minimizing midfield room and straining at the back, but winning is all that matters now.

Image: Kane Oosty/FIFA