Farid Benstiti's side fought back from a goal and a man down to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Casablanca and reach a first WAFCON semi-final. Next up: the winner of Sunday's Ghana-Malawi quarter-final.
Algeria have reached their first Women's Africa Cup of Nations semi-final — and, with it, booked a first-ever appearance at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Fennecs came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Saturday's quarter-final at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca, turning a first-half red card against the Elephants into control of the second half. It's the furthest Algeria have ever gone at WAFCON — one round better than the quarter-final finish they managed at the last edition — and because all four semi-finalists at this tournament qualify automatically for Brazil 2027, Saturday's result guarantees Algeria's World Cup debut no matter what happens from here.
How it happened
Ivory Coast, unbeaten through the group stage, went ahead through Inès Konan in the 29th minute and looked set to lead at the break. Then Nsira Ouédraogo was sent off in first-half stoppage time, leaving Ivory Coast to play the entire second half with ten players.
Algeria made the advantage tell. Substitute I. Khiri, introduced at halftime, equalized in the 59th minute. Three minutes later, Ivory Coast had a chance to reclaim the lead from the penalty spot, but Rebecca Elloh's effort was saved. Algeria punished the miss immediately: A. Braham converted a Marine Dafeur assist in the 64th minute, and the Fennecs held on from there for the win.
Algeria's best finish yet
Algeria had never previously gone beyond the WAFCON quarter-finals — until now. Their previous best came at the last edition, when they were eliminated by Ghana on penalties following a scoreless draw. Under coach Farid Benstiti, this squad has gone a round further. If Ghana beat Malawi on Sunday, Algeria will get a shot at a semi-final rematch.
Next up: Ghana or Malawi
Algeria's semi-final opponent will be decided Sunday, when Ghana's Black Queens face Malawi's Scorchers at the Al Madina Stadium in Rabat (21:00 local, 20:00 GMT).
Ghana, three-time WAFCON runners-up, needed just a point on the final day of the group stage and got exactly that — a 1-1 draw with Mali, with Evelyn Badu's goal enough to see Ghana through on goal difference.
Malawi are one of the stories of this tournament. Playing at WAFCON for the first time, the Scorchers stunned ten-time champions Nigeria 3-2 in the group stage — one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history — before finishing top of Group C on a tiebreaker after Malawi, Nigeria and Zambia all finished level on points. Sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga scored all three Malawi goals against Nigeria between them: Temwa, a forward for Kansas City Current in the NWSL, struck twice, while captain Tabitha, who plays her club football for Lyon in France, added the other.
Whichever side wins on Sunday secures its own World Cup ticket in doing so — and then walks straight into a semi-final against an Algeria team with nothing left to lose.
What's next
The WAFCON 2026 semi-finals are scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, in Rabat, with the third-place match on August 15 and the final on August 16, also in Rabat. Even the tournament's losing quarter-finalists still have a route to Brazil 2027: they play off on August 13, and the two winners advance to a FIFA intercontinental play-off between November 2026 and February 2027 for the two remaining World Cup places.