Morocco, Algeria reach WAFCON semifinals and qualify for FIFA World Cup

What the report says

Morocco and Algeria advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and secured places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, according to Al Jazeera’s report on the quarterfinals played on Saturday. The two North African sides became the first African teams to clinch World Cup qualification through this tournament, adding a wider significance to their wins.

Hosts Morocco beat South Africa 2-1 in Rabat after taking a two-goal lead and then holding on under pressure. Sakina Ouzraoui opened the scoring in the first half, Hanane Ait El Haj converted a penalty early in the second half, and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana pulled one back to set up a tense finish. Algeria also won 2-1, coming from behind against Ivory Coast in Casablanca.

In Algeria’s match, Ivory Coast led through Ines Konan before a red card left them with 10 players before halftime. Algeria then turned the game around with goals from substitute Ines Khiri and Amira Braham around the hour mark. A missed Ivory Coast penalty effort later in the match underlined how decisive the sending-off was.

The semifinal pairings are Morocco against either Nigeria or Cameroon, and Algeria against either Ghana or Malawi. More broadly, Al Jazeera noted that no North African team has ever won WAFCON, a tournament long dominated by Nigeria, with only a few other nations having lifted the title since its launch in 1998.