Portugal v Cameroon
Portugal (0) v Cameroon (0)
With both sides suffering double defeat on Wednesday, this Pitch 1 clash was vital to give either side a hope of a shot at the HWC trophy. That gave the now packed house an intriguing clash with just two goals bagged by the Africans in a first half dominated by some fine defensive work. But Cameroon's patient work in the first 7 minutes belied a bucketful of skill: the sublime no-look shot to open the scoring in the bottom left-hand corner a case in point.The trouble with the patient approach though, is that without the cushion of a few goals, a team as well-organised as Portugal can fight their way back into contention. And it was they who opened the scoring in the second half to put some pressure on their African opponents. The yellow shirts however had plenty left in the tank - as well as an impressive keeper who kept the remaining Portuguese attacks at bay. Two quick goals gave the Europeans a mountain to climb and the indomitable lions closed out the game with a fifth strike which made a late consolation goal academic.
Joel Dimmock