MONTPELLIER, France — Cameroon defender Estelle Johnson will see some familiar faces Monday when Cameroon lines up against Canada at the Women's World Cup.
Johnson, who was born in Cameroon but raised in the U.S., is teammates with Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan at the NWSL's Sky Blue FC. She also played with goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe and defender Shelina Zadorsky while with the Washington Spirit.
Johnson was born in Cameroon to an American father and Mali mother. Her dad was in agriculture and the family spent time in various places in Africa before coming to the U.S. when she was seven.
She was raised in Fort Collins, Colo., attending the University of Kansas. She has gone on to play professionally for the Philadelphia Independence of the now-defunct WPS, Sydney FC in Australia, and the Western New York Flash, Washington and Sky Blue of the NWSL.
Johnson, 30, started thinking of trying to play for Cameroon since watching the African nation make its Women's World Cup debut in 2015. She spent some 18 months trying to join the squad.
"It was kind of hard to get a hold of somebody," she said after training Sunday. "But once coach Alain (Djeumfa) took over, everything started rolling quickly. That didn't happen until January."
It's been a wild ride ever since for the 30-year-old, who earned her first cap a couple of weeks ago in a friendly.
"Oh my gosh, yes," she said with a grin. "Especially because I'm in the middle of my (NWSL) club season, so trying to co-ordinate going to embassies and doing all this paperwork while still trying to focus on playing in Jersey (for Sky Blue), it was quite the whirlwind. But it's been super-exciting."
"It's honestly a dream come true," she added. "I don't think it's truly hit me quite yet. I'm like weirdly calm. But hopefully I can keep my calm (Monday) as we walk on to the pitch."
Johnson is joined on the 46th-ranked Cameroon team by Michaela Abam, a Houston-born forward with Cameroon parents. Formerly a West Virginia Mountaineer and Sky Blue FC player, Abam — who turns 22 on Wednesday — is currently with Paris FC.
The Cameroon women are a fun-loving bunch who start each training session holding hands in a circle singing a song.
"It's been great," she said of her time with the Indomitable Lionesses. "I guess the only thing that I wish I would have focused more on is my French. My mom will speak French to us but we will respond in English. So it's easy for me to understand but speaking is quite difficult."
Johnson retired five years ago to focus on completing her MBA at Avila University in Kansas City. But she returned to soccer a year later.
Fifth-ranked Canada and Cameroon have never met. Johnson says her team has been practising twice a day for a month to prepare for the World Cup challenge.
She will have plenty of support Monday. Her father, two of her sisters, two family friends and a couple of cousins are here to watch her play.
"I'm excited that they'll be here. It will make the experience so much sweeter."
The Cameroon women sandwiched preliminary-round wins over Ecuador and Switzerland around a loss to Japan at the 2015 tournament in Canada before losing 1-0 to China in the round of 16.
Cameroon qualified for the 2019 tournament by defeating Mali 4-2 to finish third at the Africa Women Cup of Nations last November.
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
