Algeria and Morocco contest North African showdown for Tarente 2026 final

Algeria and Morocco meet on Friday evening in a North African derby with a place in the men’s football final of the Tarente 2026 Mediterranean Games at stake. Follow live commentary of Algeria v Morocco on Afrik-Foot.

The winners will qualify for the gold-medal match against Tunisia. The losing side will instead face Italy in the bronze-medal play-off.

Algeria enter the semi-final as the strongest-performing team from the group stage, having collected maximum points from their three matches. They were the only side to complete the opening phase with a perfect record, taking nine points from nine.

The Greens began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Kosovo. They then produced one of the results of the group stage by beating hosts Italy 3-1, before completing their run with a 2-0 win against Albania.

That sequence of results secured top spot in their group and gave Algeria considerable momentum before the meeting with their regional rivals.

Morocco, by contrast, had to wait until the final round of matches to confirm their place in the last four. The Atlas Lion Cubs opened the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Turkey, before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat by Tunisia.

That loss left Morocco needing a positive result in their final group fixture. They responded emphatically on Wednesday, defeating North Macedonia 5-1.

The size of that victory proved decisive. Morocco moved ahead of Turkey on goal difference and claimed second place in Group A, completing the semi-final line-up.

The match now brings together two sides who followed very different routes to the knockout stage. Algeria have maintained a flawless record throughout the tournament, while Morocco recovered from a difficult start by producing their biggest result when qualification was on the line.

The stakes are clear: victory will put either Algeria or Morocco into the final, where Tunisia await with the gold medal in sight. The team that falls short will have to regroup quickly for a meeting with Italy, with bronze their remaining target.

This semi-final is being played as part of the men’s football competition at the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Tarente.

Romain Lantheaume

I fell in love with African football through Didier Drogba, then discovered Afrik-Foot in 2013. Since then, we have never been apart.