Cameroon qualified for the Women’s World Cup last 16 when Ajara Nchout earned them a 2-1 win over New Zealand with the last kick of their Group E match.

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Nchout, whose opener was cancelled out by Aurelle Awona’s own goal in the 80th minute, found the back of the net five minutes into stoppage time.

Cameroon go through as one of the four best third-placed teams and will now face England in the last-16 clash.

The Netherlands topped the group with a maximum nine points after winning 2-1 against Canada, who ended with six points.

Asked at the post-match press conference what was going through her mind as she prepared to shoot, Nchout said: “When I got the ball in the 95th minute, I thought, ‘Okay, there is so much on my shoulders’. But I took a bit of time, I kept a cool head and then I shot on goal.

“We had been waiting for this moment for a long time. In 2015, we got to the round of 16, so we really wanted to do ourselves proud. We didn’t want to just stumble through, we wanted to prove that we are the Lionesses.”

Quick guide Women's World Cup: Route to the final Show Hide England will face Cameroon in the last 16, with a potential quarter-final against Norway or Australia ahead. Hosts France and defending champions USA are on course to meet in the last eight and are on England's side of the draw. Germany are favourites to reach the final from the bottom half, but are joined by four other sides ranked in the world's top 10 – although Sweden face Canada and Netherlands play Japan in the last 16. Last 16 draw Norway v Australia Nice, 22 Jun

England v Cameroon Valenciennes, 23 Jun

France v Brazil Le Havre, 23 Jun

Spain v USA Reims, 24 Jun Italy v China Montpellier, 25 Jun

Netherlands v Japan Rennes, 25 Jun

Germany v Nigeria Grenoble, 22 Jun

Sweden v Canada Paris, 24 Jun

New Zealand had been pressing for a winner themselves after being handed a way back into the game, and coach Tom Sermanni insisted there were positives to take.

He said: “You always have a feeling of failure when you don’t win any games. I don’t think the word failure is the right word, you just come up against teams that are a little bit better – teams like the Netherlands and today – so we’ll just have to look back at that.

“We’ll look forward to the Olympics and the next World Cup, and we’ll look towards a better result.”

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