For di first time for history, Senegal and Algeria women national teams go meet for WAFCON. Di match go happun for Sunday for Rabat Olympic Stadium, na di opening game of TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026.
Na big first for di women side, because even though dia men counterparts don face plenty times—including di AFCON 2019 final wey Algeria win 1-0—di women never cross ball for di competition before. So, dis na historic moment for both sides.
Senegal, wey dem dey call Lionesses, don reach quarterfinal for di last two editions—2022 and 2024. Now, dem want break di glass ceiling and enter semifinal. Coach Mame Moussa Cissé, wey don dey since 2019, tok say: “Di legitimate ambition today na to try reach di final and go to di World Cup. Today, we dey here to take dis next step for Senegalese women’s football.”
Di coach dey rely on fresh squad wey get mix of experienced players and young talents from U17 and U20 teams. He add: “If I think otherwise, we for stay for Senegal. We get a mix, a very cohesive group. I think we ready. Na we now to put all di necessary ingredients so we fit take dis next step.”
Statistics favour Senegal, because dem win dia opening match for di last two editions—2-0 against Uganda for 2022 and 4-0 against DR Congo for 2024. Dia main attacker na Nguenar Ndiaye, wey be di country’s all-time top scorer for WAFCON wit five goals—four of dem for 2024 alone. But Senegal get one problem: dem neva score against North African teams for WAFCON. For three matches against Morocco and Tunisia, dem get two 1-0 defeats and one goalless draw.
On di other side, Algeria—di Fennecs—dey come wit strong defence. For WAFCON 2024, dem no concede any goal, keeping four clean sheets and running 416 minutes without conceding. Dia last goal wey dem concede for tournament na for 2018. But attack wise, dem get problem: only one goal for dia last four AFCON matches—a 1-0 win against Botswana—and dem dey on 381-minute goalless streak, with three goalless draws for dia last three matches.
Coach Farid Benstiti tok: “Algeria, compared to Senegal, be team wey go certainly pose problems for di other three teams. And I feel say we get wetin we need to be spoilers for dis group. And dat suit me perfectly because we don make plenty progress.”
Algeria don face West African teams eight times before, recording two wins, one draw, and five losses.
