Dominant display: Algeria women crush Egypt in powerful AFCON warm-up

Algeria’s women’s national team delivered a commanding 3-0 victory over Egypt in a friendly on Saturday evening as preparations continue for the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations.

The match, played at the Egyptian national teams’ training centre, saw the visitors assert their dominance in the second half, scoring three goals to underline their readiness for the upcoming continental challenge.

Lina Boussaha broke the deadlock in the 49th minute, giving Algeria the breakthrough shortly after the restart.

Just six minutes later, Inès Khiri doubled the advantage, placing the contest firmly in their control.

Nihad Naïli added a third goal in the 87th minute to complete an emphatic performance.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again in a second friendly on Monday at 9:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Algerian time), offering both teams another opportunity to fine-tune their squads ahead of competitive fixtures.

These encounters form part of Algeria’s structured preparation programme for the final phase of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Prior to travelling to Egypt, the squad completed an intensive training camp at the Sidi-Moussa Technical Centre in Algiers, focusing on tactical organisation and physical conditioning.

Head coach Farid Benstiti selected a 28-player squad for the preparatory phase, with a significant number of the group based abroad.

Several members of the panel compete professionally in leagues across France, Switzerland, England, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, reflecting the increasingly international profile of the Algerian squad.

Algeria will be making their seventh appearance in the final phase of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and their second consecutive participation following the 2024 tournament.

In that edition, Benstiti’s side achieved a historic milestone by reaching the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Ghana after a goalless draw, losing 4-2 on penalties.

Saturday’s performance against Egypt offered further encouragement that the team is building momentum at the right time.

With another friendly to come and preparations well under way, Algeria’s players appear determined to build on recent progress when they return to the continental stage.