Algeria Beats Senegal in TotalEnergies CAF Wafcon Morocco 2026 Match

Algeria began their TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 campaign with an assured 2-0 victory over Senegal in the opening Group A match on Saturday evening in Rabat. A first-half penalty from Nguenar Ndiaye and a late strike by Mélissa Bethi secured the three points for the North Africans, who produced a disciplined display to claim an important early advantage in the race for the knockout stages. Senegal enjoyed slightly more possession but Algeria proved more clinical in front of goal, forcing five saves from their opponents while restricting Senegal to just two efforts on target. The breakthrough came in the 13th minute after Senegal were awarded a penalty, with captain Nguenar Ndiaye calmly converting from the spot to hand the West Africans an early lead. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Algeria responded positively and gradually settled into the contest, showing greater attacking intent as the first half progressed while remaining organised defensively. Despite Senegal taking their slender advantage into the interval, Algeria emerged after the break even stronger and began asking more questions of the Senegalese defence. The introduction of fresh legs midway through the second half helped Algeria maintain their momentum, while Senegal made a series of substitutions in search of greater attacking penetration. Their persistence was rewarded five minutes from time when Mélissa Bethi finished confidently after being picked out by Lina Boussaha, doubling Algeria's advantage and effectively putting the result beyond doubt. Senegal pushed forward during the closing stages, but Algeria remained composed to see out the contest and secure all three points with a clean sheet. The victory gives Algeria an ideal start to the tournament ahead of a highly anticipated meeting with hosts Morocco on Thursday. Senegal will look to respond when they take on Kenya earlier the same day in their second Group A fixture. Mame Moussa Cissé (Senegal): "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. Read the original article on CAF . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.