Cameroon’s Gabrielle Onguene says the 2023 Women’s World Cup without her country would be “like McDonald’s without fries”.
The CSKA Moscow forward, 33, came off the bench to score both goals as the Indomitable Lionesses beat Thailand 2-0 in a play-off match on Saturday.
Only Portugal now stand in Cameroon’s way as they target a third consecutive appearance in the finals.
“It’s always a pleasure and a big joy for football players to participate at a World Cup,” she told organisers Fifa after the victory in Hamilton, New Zealand.
“When I went on the pitch, every ball I got I tried to stay as calm as possible.
“Now, we want our third ticket, our third participation, because we believe that a World Cup without Cameroon is like McDonald’s without fries.”
Onguene opened the scoring in the 79th minute at the Waikato Stadium – only five minutes after coming on as a substitute – before doubling the lead three minutes later.
The winners of Wednesday’s match against Portugal will book their place in the finals, to be held in Australia and New Zealand later this year.
But Senegal’s hopes of reaching their first finals ended with a 4-0 defeat to Haiti, who now face Chile in their final play-off game.
