Algeria Beat Senegal 2-0 to Make Winning Start at WAFCON 2026
Algeria made a strong start to their 2026 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 2-0 win over Senegal in their opening Group A match on Saturday in Rabat, Morocco.
Algeria stayed organised at the back and took their chances well to earn all three points and move into a good position in the race for the quarter-finals.
Captain Marine Dafeur opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half after Algeria were awarded a spot-kick. The goal gave the North Africans confidence as they controlled large parts of the game.
Senegal saw more of the ball but struggled to create clear chances. Algeria looked more dangerous in attack and forced several good saves from the Senegal goalkeeper.
The North Africans sealed the victory five minutes from full time when Mélissa Bethi calmly finished after receiving a pass from Lina Boussaha.
Senegal pushed forward in the closing minutes but could not find a way through Algeria’s solid defence, as the North Africans secured a clean sheet.
The result gives Algeria an excellent start to the tournament ahead of their next Group A match against hosts Morocco on Thursday. Senegal will hope to bounce back when they face Kenya on the same day.
After the match, Senegal coach Mame Moussa Cissé admitted his side made costly mistakes.
“We gave our opponents too much space. We lost this match because of the individual errors we made. We will analyse what worked, take the necessary lessons from this performance, and shift our focus to the next match. We now have to regroup and make sure we beat Kenya,” Cissé said.
