A US fan has filed some needle in my inbox: “So which member of this England team is tasked with the Lineker role of falling over in the box when this Cameroon team proves more than a pushover?”
I am a big Demi Stokes fan having seen quite a few Man City games last season, so I am surprised she is seen as second-choice left-back in this team. Alex Greenwood has looked good when she has played, though, so merits the chance to start in the knockout stages.
James Anderson has been in touch: “hi my name is james Anderson and i hope England women will win the game.”
Good to hear …
Steph Houghton is confident of Karen Bardsley’s ability when it comes to saving penalties if a shootout is required.
“KB is probably the most prepared keeper I’ve ever played with,” the defender said. “The keepers do a lot of work. We’ve got four great keepers. KB showed what she was about (against Japan), Carly did the same against Argentina.
“When those moments matter, people step up and they’re the match winners. For me, if it came to a shoot-out then I’d have full faith in the keepers we have.”
Rob Harris emails in his disdain: “Just seen the England team sheet and amazed he has left their only authentic playmaker Karen Carney on the bench again. Kirby has a tendency to give the ball away and make the wrong decisions and England improved significantly when Carney replaced her against Argentina, and also when she came on against France. Neville is supposed to rate her highly but it seems not.”
A slightly frustrating lineup for England, as it is almost a perfect 1 to 11 but Ellen White starting over Jodie Taylor means we have No 18 on the pitch, rather than the No 9. What a shame for tradition.
Nchout scored twice in the win over New Zealand and is Cameroon’s main threat. Njie Enow tells us more about the forward …
Neville has gone with Kirby over Stanway despite the Chelsea player’s performance during the tournament. One assumes Kirby will be motivated to prove her worth to the team on a day like this.
Lineups: England v Cameroon
England: Bardsley, Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Greenwood, Walsh, Scott, Parris, Kirby, Duggan, White
Cameroon: Ngo Ndom, Nchout, Leuko, Ejangue, Johnson, Aboudi Onguene, Feudjio, Yango, Awona, Enganamouit, Abam
Preamble
Good afternoon!
The knockout stages are upon us and it’s a key date in Phil Neville’s calendar as the Lionesses look to show what they’re made of when it really matters. After get through a tough group without reaching fifth gear, the players know there is plenty more to come.
Neville says he is yet to see anything that scares him at this World Cup. Cameroon really shouldn’t put much fear into this England side, but they have shown they can mix it with the best in France. They beat New Zealand in dramatic fashion to get this far and the Kiwis saw off England in a recent friendly, which is a sign of the danger that they offer.
The football will probably all be irrelevant and we’ll just be discussing VAR for the 90 minutes anyway.