Algeria miss out on Futsal AFCON 2026 bronze after Egypt thrash them 8-1

Algeria’s hopes of finishing on the podium at the CAN de futsal 2026 ended in a heavy 8-1 defeat by Egypt in the third-place play-off in Rabat on Wednesday.

Noureddine Benamrouche’s side were beaten at the Complexe Prince Moulay Abdellah, leaving them fourth in their first appearance in the history of the competition and without a medal.

Algeria came close to taking the lead when Walid Riache’s effort struck the post. Egypt then opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a long-range strike following a short corner routine.

The Egyptians doubled their advantage only seconds later. A quick counter-attack began with a long throw from their goalkeeper, before Ibrahim Sayed took advantage of confusion between Samyr Teffaf and Mathieu Hammad to make it 2-0.

Egypt extended their lead before half-time in the 16th minute, cutting through an Algeria defence positioned high up the court with a rapid passing move.

With his team needing to find a way back into the match, Teffaf moved forward to support the attack in the second half. That left the Algeria goal exposed, however, and Egypt took advantage by scoring four more times in the 25th, 31st, 33rd and 34th minutes.

The Fennecs were unable to recover and conceded again late on, while their substitutes watched on in disappointment. Rayane Ait Hamadouche scored Algeria’s consolation goal in the 40th minute.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Algeria’s campaign represented a significant achievement on their tournament debut. They began with a 4-0 defeat by hosts Morocco, before drawing 2-2 with Libya.

They then secured a historic qualification from the group stage by beating Zambia 7-4. Their run ultimately came to an end in the semi-finals, where Angola overturned the match to win 3-2.

Egypt’s victory secured third place, while Algeria had to settle for fourth after a campaign that marked their first participation in the CAN de futsal.