Cameroon progressed to the last 16 of the Women's World Cup in spectacular fashion, as a 95th minute winner from Ajara Nchout saw them beat New Zealand 2-1.

The winger scored two well-taken goals in the second-half as she helped her side to victory, with a monumental last-gasp winner sparking delirium amongst the Cameroon camp.

A game of two halves

An extremely uneventful first-half left much to be desired from both teams, with the lively Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene seeing efforts saved by New Zealand keeper Erin Nayler.

The Ferns best chance of the opening 45 minutes fell to Olivia Chance, but she blazed her effort over from 18 yards. 

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The second-half saw both teams come out in a much more attacking fashion. 

Cameroon took the lead just before the hour mark when Nchout turned her marker brilliantly on the edge of the box before slotting a low finish into the far corner. 

New Zealand had chances to respond but couldn't pull themselves level. Sarah Gregorius saw a diving header fly narrowly wide, before Betsy Hassett watched a close range header tipped wide. 

Nayler kept her side in the tie on several occasions, most noticeably when her excellent triple-save denied Onguene and Michaela Abam

A stroke of fortune got the Ferns back in the game when Katie Bowen swung in a teasing cross, which fizzed off Aurelle Awona's shin and diverted the ball away from Annette Ngo Ndom into the net. 

But it was Cameroon who snatched the spoils at the death when Nchout danced her way through the defence and calmly curled the ball into the far corner, sending the fans behind the goal wild.

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What we learnt

Despite stealing victory, Cameroon will need to put in a much better performance in their last 16 tie if they are to stand any chance of progressing further. 

Not only will their opponents be tougher, they were very wasteful in the final third and the majority of shots were from long distance. With that being said, the composure shown by Nchout for her two goals make her a player to be wary of for the opposition.

But overall, Cameroon will need to play better across the course of the 90 minutes if they want to continue their World Cup journey.

What next?

The win means Cameroon qualify for the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams. They will now go on to potentially face England in the last 16. 

For New Zealand, that signals the end of their World Cup campaign.