Cameroon have won their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title after beating Malawi 3-0 in Sunday’s final at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.
The Indomitable Lionesses produced a dominant display to finally end years of disappointment in the competition, with their previous three final appearances ending in defeat.
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Cameroon took control early and raced into a three-goal lead before half-time.
Marie Ngah opened the scoring after 20 minutes, heading the ball into the net to give Cameroon the perfect start.
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Naomi Ndjoah Eto doubled the advantage eight minutes later, leaving Malawi with a mountain to climb.
Ngah then completed her brace just before the break to put Cameroon firmly in control and effectively settle the contest before half-time.
The victory marks a historic moment for Cameroon, who had previously finished runners-up in 2004, 2014 and 2016.
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All three of those defeats came against Nigeria, including a 5-0 loss in the 2004 final, a 2-0 defeat in 2014 and a 1-0 loss in 2016.
This time, Cameroon faced a different opponent in the final and made the opportunity count.
The title also completes a remarkable turnaround for the team, who initially failed to qualify for the tournament before gaining entry after the competition was expanded from 12 to 16 teams.
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For Malawi, the defeat ended a remarkable debut campaign. The Scorchers became the first Southern African team apart from South Africa to reach the WAFCON final and had written their own history by reaching the title decider at their first appearance.
Malawi had defeated Algeria 3-1 in the semi-finals, while Cameroon overcame hosts Morocco in a penalty shoot-out to reach the final.
Cameroon entered the final having conceded only two goals in the tournament and had kept three clean sheets.
Their defensive strength was matched by a clinical attack in the final as they secured the biggest victory of the competition’s title match.
Sunday’s victory makes Cameroon the fourth different nation to win the WAFCON title, joining record champions Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
After three final defeats, Cameroon are finally Queens of Africa.
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