England vs Cameroon: A Contentious History at the Women's World Cup

Nov 06, 2025 0

The history between England and Cameroon at the FIFA Women's World Cup is marked by a particularly controversial encounter during the 2019 edition. This match, more than just a game, sparked widespread debate and raised questions about sportsmanship and the application of VAR (Video Assistant Referee).

England's coach Phil Neville during the France 2019 Women's World Cup match against Cameroon. (Photo by Philippe HUGUEN / AFP)

The 2019 World Cup Clash

England faced Cameroon in the round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The match concluded with a 3-0 victory for England. However, the scoreline only tells part of the story.

Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Alex Greenwood scored the goals to send England through to the World Cup quarter-finals. The game was marred by incidents that drew criticism from various quarters.

Today’s back pages: Neville ‘utterly ashamed’ of Cameroon’s disgraceful behaviour

Controversial Moments and VAR Decisions

One of the most contentious moments involved Ellen White's goal, which was initially flagged for offside. A VAR check subsequently overturned the decision, awarding the goal to England. Cameroon responded by refusing to take kick-off for a time and exhibited questionable behavior throughout.

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Another incident saw midfielder Jeannette Yango run into referee Qin Liang without much effort to stop. These actions contributed to a highly charged atmosphere on the field.

Reactions and Aftermath

England women's manager Phil Neville expressed strong disapproval of Cameroon's conduct, stating he was "utterly ashamed" of their behavior. He said: "I am completely and utterly ashamed of the opposition. When I started in management, I think it was Arsene Wenger that told me: The team mirror the manager. If that was my team - and it will never be any of my players - they would never play for England again, with that kind of behaviour."

Neville also highlighted the negative example set for young girls worldwide, emphasizing that such behavior should not be emulated. As the opposition anger boiled over, the English just waited for it to subside. Defender Millie Bright said, “As soon as you get caught up in that, or get worried about it, you will lose momentum in the game. We stayed away from it.”

The head of the FIFA administration, FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura, tweeted the Cameroon players “inspired many young girls,” with “passionate and talented play on the field that made your fans proud and your country is proud of you.”

In contrast, Isha Johansen, president of CAF’s women’s committee, said the match “reflected badly not only on African women’s football but African football on the whole” and wants punishments imposed.

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England's Broader World Cup History

England have a rich history at the FIFA Women's World Cup, having participated in multiple tournaments. This includes appearances in 1995, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.

Key World Cup Moments

1995: England qualified as the semi-finalist of the European Championship. They defeated Canada 3-2 in their first World Cup match.
2007: England won 6-1 against Argentina and qualified for the quarter-finals.
2011: England defeated New Zealand 2-1 and Japan 2-0 to take England's first ever group victory at a World Cup.
2019: England won 3-0 against Cameroon in the knockout rounds.

England's FIFA Women's World Cup Record

This is a record of England's results at the FIFA Women's World Cup. The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase. England have competed at all eight tournaments to date.

For the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, for the first time, UEFA set up separate qualifiers. In the qualification for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup England again faced Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Portugal. For the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany qualifying, England earned seven wins and a draw playing against Spain, Austria, Turkey and Malta for the playoffs of the group winners.