Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria chase historic progress in Women’s AFCON quarter-final

Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria meet in the opening quarter-final of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, with a place in the last four and direct qualification for the Women’s World Cup in Brazil at stake.

The match will take place at Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca, Morocco, on Saturday at 19:00 French time. Kick-off is scheduled for 18:00 in Algeria and 17:00 in Cote d’Ivoire.

It will be the first meeting between the two nations at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Both sides arrive with ambitions of reaching the semi-finals, although their recent tournament histories give the fixture different significance.

Cote d’Ivoire topped their group unbeaten. The Elephantes began their campaign with a 4-1 victory over Burkina Faso, followed that with a 2-2 draw against South Africa and completed the group stage by beating Tanzania 1-2.

Algeria, meanwhile, opened the competition with a 2-0 win over Senegal. They then lost 0-1 to hosts Morocco before responding with a 0-2 victory against Kenya.

A victory would take Algeria into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time. Cote d’Ivoire are seeking a second appearance in the last four, 12 years after reaching that stage for the first time.

The quarter-final also brings together four of the tournament’s notable goalscorers. Algeria will look to Marine Dafeur, while Cote d’Ivoire’s attacking threat includes Ines Konan, Grace-Ruth Sery and Nsira Ouedraogo. Between them, the four players have scored nine goals in the tournament.

There has been one alteration to the Cote d’Ivoire starting line-up from the team selected for their previous match. Frederique Abrogoua comes into the side, with Rosemonde Kouassi dropping to the substitutes’ bench.

Algeria coach Farid Benstiti has made two changes to his starting XI. Sofia Bekhaled and Lina Boussaha are included from the start, while Ines Boutaleb and Sofia Guellati are among the substitutes after both players went off injured against Kenya.

The opening quarter-final therefore offers more than a place in the next round. The winners will secure the first semi-final berth of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and also earn a direct route to the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

For Cote d’Ivoire, the opportunity is to build on an unbeaten group-stage campaign and return to the semi-finals after a long wait. Algeria, on the other hand, are aiming to make history by reaching the final four for the first time.