Why I’m in love with the Cameroon women’s national team
or how the Indomitable Lionesses are bringing the most beauty to the beautiful game
This essay is inspired by a post I made on Facebook after Cameroon’s narrow loss to Japan along with this recent article comparing the Cameroon women’s national team’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 campaign so far to their men’s national team’s famous run in the FIFA World Cup Italy 1990.
I was born in 1991, so I wasn’t even alive for the 1990 World Cup. But I’ve read about the incredible story of 38 year old (!) Roger Milla coming out of international retirement (!) at the personal request of Cameroon’s president (!) and scoring 4 goals (!) to lead Les Lions Indomptables to the quarter-finals (!), the furthest any African team had gone in the World Cup (!), not to mention he reappeared with Cameroon 4 years later (!) in U.S.A. 1994 to become not only the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match (!) at the time — and still the oldest field player to appear (!) — but also the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history at the age of 42 (!). Of course, as legendary as Roger Milla is, the Indomitable Lions needed to be great as a team to beat defending champions Argentina and formidable Romania in the group stage — you could make the case, though, that they all had Roger Milla to thank for their second round 2–1 victory over Colombia, since he scored 2 goals in extra time to pull them through.
I’m sure you’re wondering by now how the Indomitable Lionesses could possibly be compared with such a legacy. I don’t think the comparison is perfect, but let me attempt to show you a millennial American's perspective on how it may be justified.
Depending on how you see it, the USSF’s revitalization of U.S. soccer may have started (1) in the years leading up to the 1994 World Cup bid, when the USSF finally decided to take U.S. soccer seriously (2) on the Fourth of July, 1988, when the U.S. was awarded the 1994 World Cup (3) during the 1990 World Cup, the first the U.S. had qualified for in 40 years (4) during the 1994 World Cup, still the most-attended in World Cup history, making a whole lot of Americans start caring about soccer. Regardless of the exact moment, at some point in the late 80s/early 90s, soccer became a U.S. national interest. And, even though it still lags behind the other major sports in this country — which should really be no surprise if you take into simple consideration how many years each respective major league has existed — we’re still in a special era of renewed U.S. interest in the most popular sport in the world. I and the rest of the millenials were born into that era.
In fact, the 2010 World Cup was the first one I paid attention to, trying to at least catch the U.S.’s matches. I can vaguely remember Landon Donovan’s heroics leading the USMNT to win their World Cup group for the first time since their original appearance in the inaugural 1930 World Cup, and I can remember Luis Suárez desperately doing anything he could to give Uruguay the chance to beat Ghana, along with Spain playing the beautiful game so beautifully — in the middle of one of the most special eras of any national team — en route to winning that World Cup. But it wasn’t until the 2014 World Cup that I immersed myself into every match I could watch, having been hooked on the sport by the 2010 World Cup and its aftermath.
Similarly, I only caught Women’s World Cup fever during the U.S.’s run in 2011. I can vaguely remember Abby Wambach’s heroic headers throughout the knockout stages, especially in the quarter-final against Marta’s Brazil, until our penalty shootout collapse against Japan in the final. But this 2015 Women’s World Cup is the first that I’ve watched religiously, trying to watch as many matches possible, regardless of whether the USWNT is playing — in fact, the most exciting matches I’ve seen have not included the USWNT.
Thus, it seems entirely possible to me that the 2015 Cameroon women’s national team’s importance can rival their 1990 men’s side. In 1990, soccer was frankly ugly, ruled by the Italian philosophy — where, fittingly, that World Cup was hosted — of conceding 1 goal fewer than your opponent, rather than scoring 1 goal more. Subsequent rule changes and a return to possession passing have returned some beauty to the beautiful game, though we still have some way to go, as summed up in this quote by Sócrates (one of many excellent insights from one of the last practitioners — and philosophers — of romantic soccer):
Both teams [in the infamous 2010 World Cup final] had an absurd fear of losing and, consequently, of winning.
My point is, Cameroon’s 1990 run may have represented the emergence of Cameroon — and, by extension, Africa — in the international game, but it came at an unfortunate low point in terms of style of play, one that we thankfully have been trying to move on from ever since. Despite Coca-Cola trying to remind everyone of Roger Milla’s heroics in their 2010 World Cup commercial, that story belongs to a different era, especially in the U.S., when the USMNT was still in its (re)birthing pains. For Cameroonians and Africans in general, it kicks off an era of international success and inclusion, yet it occurred so long ago that only 10 of the Cameroon women’s national team players in this 2015 Women’s World Cup were alive to see it, with the oldest being only 6 years old at the time. The 21st century African moment in international soccer is ripe for the taking among the fans accumulated since the continent’s original moment, and it may come from a women’s team!
Furthermore, as great as the Cameroon national team’s success in 1990 was for the development of its country’s and continent’s game, women’s soccer in general has a long way to go in terms of its infrastructural support. Even when Madeleine Ngono Mani — not only the scorer of the game-winning goal against Switzerland that put Cameroon through to the Group of 16 but also the oldest player on the team, one of those who was 6 years old during the 1990 World Cup and could thus conceivably remember Roger Milla’s heroics firsthand — admits that “It is like we are taking after them [Italy 1990 team], and taking an example from them”, she also claims that “I could never have imagined this [achievement] when I was young.” Women’s soccer is at the point where it needs to elevate its domestic competitions to the next level in order to do the same internationally, and Cameroon is primed to do that for the Motherland. The Indomitable Lionesses of 2015 may differ from the 1990 Lions in that Nigeria has already had some success in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, preventing Cameroon from having that 1990 moment where everyone realizes that Africa is for real, but these Lionesses are looking to me like a side entirely capable of advancing Africa’s profile in women’s soccer.
I hope you can now see where I’m coming from when I say I consider the Indomitable Lionesses’ success to be one of the major stories of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, because now I’d like to explain to you why I’m in love with them.
They’re fun
I’ve actually only been to able to catch one of Cameroon’s three group stage matches, having missed their opening rout of Ecuador and not being able to see their come-from-behind win over Switzerland because I don’t have Fox Sports 2 in my cable package. I decided to watch their match against Japan because it was a lazy summer day and the Women’s World Cup would be the only soccer I could watch apart from the occasional Euro qualifier or MLS game. It didn’t take long for Cameroon to begin winning me over. In fact, it started during the pregame team photo:
Check out that front row pose! That amazing Green-Red-Red kit with the African-print collar! The keeper’s cyberpunk uniform! The hair!
In a FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Best Hair XI, Cameroon would definitely supply the most players, including Madeleine Ngono Mani’s (second from top left) long pink ponytail, Gaëlle Enganamouit’s (third from top right) majestic blonde perm-hawk, Cathy Bou Ndjouh’s (first from top right) short tight curls with a blonde subsection, and Gabrielle Onguene’s wild medium-length layered perm — you could also make a case for 19 year old Raissa Feudjio’s (second from top right) permed shock with full bangs and captain Christine Manie’s (first from bottom right) severe pulled-back with shaved sides look.
Watching Enganamouit and Onguene’s hair grow increasingly wild over the course of a match is almost as entertaining as watching the two attackers careen into opposing defenses for 90+ minutes, thanks to Enganamouit’s power and long strides and Onguene’s pace.
That brings me to how fun Cameroon is on the pitch as well. Actually, they seem to me to be the team having the most fun in Canada. They’re one of a few teams this year appearing in the Women’s World Cup for the first time in their nation’s history, and don’t get me wrong, they become plenty serious and intense when they need to, but they also came into this World Cup with their very own goal celebration dance — created by Enganamouit, who dubbed it Pala Bella — which they were able to exhibit early and often, having opened their campaign with a 6–0 victory against Ecuador that included a hat trick from the dance’s mastermind herself:
Roger Milla’s no doubt proud.
They’re patriotic (and so are their fans)
When I watched Cameroon’s starting XI sing their national anthem before their match against Japan, I witnessed the loudest collective singing I’d ever heard from soccer players, men or women. And once the match started, Cameroon’s fans in attendance picked up right where their Indomitable Lionesses left off.
As I said earlier, I missed the Cameroon-Switzerland match, but apparently the fans hadn’t lost their voices at all:
the African supporters sang their country’s national anthem so wholeheartedly it seemed to give their side added motivation to succeed. In doing so, they played their part in helping Cameroon reach the knockout stages.
In addition to these inspiring displays of singing, Cameroon seems to have taken up the Pan-African cause. Ngono Mani, in the article that contributed to my decision to write this essay, is quoted as saying:
We actually represent all of Africa and we are proud to be representing it in the World Cup.
As I’ve mentioned, Ngono Mani is one of the few players on this Cameroon team who’s old enough to have conceivably witnessed Italy 1990 and the after-effects it had on soccer in Africa, so she may be particularly attuned to the impact her own team can have — especially for African girls. I’m not sure how many other players have expressed similar sentiments, as this aspect of the Indomitable Lionesses’ Canada 2015 journey hasn’t become as much of a storyline yet, but I look forward to hearing more about it as the team continues to chase the tail of the 1990 Indomitable Lions through the second round and hopefully into the quarter-finals.
They play positive soccer
In the Men in Blazers pseudo-podcast within 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Roger Bennett joked that an alternative to penalty shootouts deciding elimination matches could be awarding the tiebreaker to whichever team sings their pregame national anthem the loudest. If that were the case, the Indomitable Lionesses would be even more of a force to be reckoned with, but I doubt they’d shed their positive style of play even if they knew before the 90 minutes had started that they would advance on a draw.
In all 3 group stage matches Cameroon has played, they’ve attacked for the full 90+ minutes. The Indomitable Lionesses play an attractive, exciting style of soccer, whether they’re blowing out Ecuador and racking up penalty shots — deserved or not — through extra time:
or desperately launching run after run against Japan after giving up a couple of early, easy goals until they came this close to achieving a draw in extra time against the defending world champions:
or matching and then exceeding the positivity of Switzerland to come from behind and win what sounds (and looks) like a very entertaining match:
Even though I’m of course cheering for the USWNT and would be both glad and proud to see them win this Women’s World Cup for the first time since the end of the last century, it was hard watching their matches against Sweden and then Nigeria — I missed their opener against Australia. Too many aimless long balls, not enough creativity in the final third, and having to rely on the same old faces — who can’t possibly be there for us in France 2019 — to pull us through.
Cameroon, on the other hand, has just enough veterans to lead the team — like Ngono Mani, scorer of the goal that sent the Indomitable Lionesses into the second round, and captain Manie, who actually scored the goal in extra time of the 2014 African Women’s Championship semifinal against Ivory Coast that qualified Cameroon for this Women’s World Cup — while possessing plenty of youth talent — including 23 year old star Gaëlle Enganamouit and 19 year old Raissa Feudjio, who represented Cameroon in the 2012 Summer Olympics at the budding age of 16 — which should see them become an African mainstay in the Women’s World Cup.
So, while I support the USWNT out of obligation, I cheer for Cameroon and look forward to each of their matches because of the sheer joy they engender.
They have a star-in-the-making
In the one group stage match of Cameroon’s that I was able to watch live, Gaëlle Enganamouit didn’t score a single goal against the disciplined Japanese defense. She also didn’t score a goal in the subsequent, all-important win against Switzerland. (She did, however, score a hat trick in the opening rout of Ecuador, who probably would have been better off participating in a U-23 tournament.) And yet, Enganamouit is one of the most dynamic players in this Women’s World Cup and a true force to be reckoned with.
In that match against Cameroon, Enganamouit supplied the assist for the Indomitable Lionesses’ only goal with a remarkable through ball:
She also almost scored what would have been the game-tying goal on a header from improbably far out that somehow only just missed:
And then of course there’s her hat trick against Ecuador, which was preceded by this shot of hers that was rebounded by Ngono Mani for Cameroon’s first ever Women’s World Cup goal:
Enganamouit then scored Cameroon’s second goal by straight-up out-striding the poor Ecuadorian defenders tasked with keeping up with her:
Not even ten minutes later, an Enganamouit run into the box led to a penalty given on a foul, which Manie then put home:
Cameroon wouldn’t score again until the second half, but before that goal fourth goal happened, Enganamouit reduced Ecuador to ten women with a crafty piece of skill:
Approaching the midpoint of the second half, Cameroon found themselves breaking against a scattered Ecuador defense. Enganamouit’s long legs drove her run into the box and allowed her to stretch out and seize the goal:
Only a few minutes later, Onguene scored on a penalty shot following an Ecuador handball in the box, the only goal of the day that Enganamouit wasn’t directly involved in. She wasn’t done yet, though, earning this penalty in extra time:
and she was allowed to take the penalty, which she finished clinically (of course) to complete her hat trick:
Against Switzerland, she wasn’t directly involved in any goals, but that doesn’t diminish the impact she had on the field.
Wikipedia, perhaps via UEFA, calls her a midfielder in the opening paragraph of her page, only to more accurately state her position as midfielder and forward in her infobox. IIRC, she’s featured exclusively as a forward in this Women’s World Cup, although her long-striding running style and dynamism remind me of box-to-box midfielder (and Young Player Award winner at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil) Paul Pogba:
I could see Enganamouit playing that box-to-box role at the club level — as of last year she plays for Eskilstuna United DFF in Sweden’s heralded Women’s Premier Division (Damallsvenskan), although the club’s Wikipedia page lists her as a forward. Her unwavering dedication to pushing forward and the ever-present danger she presents to opposing teams with her vision and power combine to form a player whose driving runs and passes through the middle of the field provide a persistent goalscoring/creating threat.
Those qualities apparently led to Canadian fans nicknaming her Freight Train during the Japan match, although I don’t remember hearing that chanted or commented on by the broadcasters. That nickname honestly seems too unoriginal; I’d much rather call her something befitting of a player whose national team has the all-time great nickname of the Indomitable Lionesses. Even Gaëlle, homophonous to gale, “a very strong wind”, seems a better moniker. Call her Gaëlle Force if you wish.
However, that Japan match was very memorable, especially thanks to Enganamouit’s dynamism, which led to her actually collapsing on the field late in the game with a leg cramp, having put that 5'7" / 146 lbs. body through so much, only for a Japanese field player and then the Japanese keeper to assist her in stretching out that leg to overcome the cramping. Seeing the Japanese keeper extend Enganamouit’s leg until the medical personnel could take over was probably the most touching moment I’ve ever witnessed in a soccer match.
Watching Gaëlle Force produce near-divine winds against Japan made me wish I could catch her club-level matches in the future, just to continue having the opportunity to see her play. I’m even considering buying an Enganamouit jersey, so I can rep one of my new favorite soccer players. As I reflect on these feelings, I realize that women’s soccer needs players who make other fans think exactly the same things. The Women’s World Cup, for all it represents as a competition to crown the best women’s national team in world soccer, should also strive to be a showcase for players who make us want to continue watching women’s soccer for the 4 following years, until the next Women’s World Cup, while monetarily supporting our favorite women athletes just as we do with the men. In this way, Gaëlle Enganamouit and the rest of the Indomitable Lionesses can be just as revolutionary as the Lions of Italy 1990.
And to think, the Cameroon women’s national team’s financial future was so uncertain they almost ended up going on strike for their country’s first ever Women’s World Cup match, which would have meant no 6–0 win over Ecuador, no Enganamouit hat trick (the first one ever recorded in the Women’s World Cup by an African), and no Pala Bella. Support the Indomitable Lionesses! Support the beautiful game!
