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Hosts Morocco secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Algeria in a fiercely contested North African derby in their second Group A game of the Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Thursday night.
Morocco were made to work hard for the three points, as they came up against a disciplined Algerian side that frustrated them for most parts of the contest.
The North African rivals were unable to create clear-cut opportunities in the first half with the game remaining goalless at the break despite several promising attacking moves from either side.
However, Morocco eventually found the breakthrough in the 84th minute thanks to Sanaa Mssoudy who scored the decisive goal to spark celebrations among the home supporters and hand the Atlas Lionesses all three points.
The narrow victory sees Morocco remain top of Group A with six points from two matches, strengthening their position ahead of the knockout stages.
As for the Algerians, the defeat leaves them on three points, same points as Senegal, who earlier defeated Kenya 1-0 to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
Morocco will not only be targeting qualification for the FIFA women’s World Cup in 2027 but also become African champions for the first time.
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Despite featuring in the final of the last two WAFCONs, which they hosted, Morocco have ended on the losing side.
Their first appear appearance in the final was in 2022 where they lost 2-1 to South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
In the 2024 final, the Moroccans were on the verge of becoming African champions for the first time after racing to 2-0 first half lead against Nigeria’s Super Falcons.
But the Super Falcons fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and secure a record-extending 10th WAFCON title.
By James Agberebi
