Indomitable Lionesses bow out of Women's World Cup after England loss

Cameroon's hopes of carrying Africa's dream at the Women's World Cup crashed after a 3-0 defeat to England in their Round of 16 game on Sunday.

The Indomitable Lionesses had progressed to the knockout stages of the competition for the second time in a row since their debut outing four years ago in Canada.

To advance, the Central Africans required a 2-1 final Group E triumph over New Zealand after earlier group stage defeats to Canada and the Netherlands.

Now, in the knockout stage at Stade du Hainaut, goals from Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Alex Greenwood condemned Djuemba's side to back-to-back Round of 16 defeats in World Cups.

After goalkeeper Annette Ngo Ndom's error, Houghton's well-struck freekick inside the area gave the English the lead after just 14 minutes in the encounter.

On the brink of half time, Lucy Bronze set up White with a through ball and the latter player made no mistake firing past Ngo Ndom deep inside additional time.

In the second half, Ajara Nchout thought she had pulled one back from Gaelle Enganamouit's pass but the goal was cancelled. Enganamouit was ruled offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in the 49th minute.

Nine minutes later, Toni Duggan played the ball into the box. From there Greenwood was in the right position to blast home and wrap up a convincing victory for England.

The result means it is the end of the road for African sides in the competition with Nigeria and South Africa already eliminated.