Morocco suffer late penalty heartbreak as Algeria take WAFCON bronze

Algeria won the bronze medal at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after beating Morocco 3-2 on penalties in the third-place play-off, following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes in a dramatic contest that remained undecided until the closing moments.

Morocco took the lead in the 37th minute when Kawtar Azzraf finished after being set up by Hanan Ait El Haj. The goal gave Morocco the advantage at half-time, despite Algeria’s efforts to respond before the interval.

Morocco appeared to have doubled their lead shortly after the restart. Meriem Atiq found the net in the 47th minute, but the goal was disallowed after the referee reviewed the incident using the video assistant referee system.

That decision kept Algeria within touching distance and allowed them to continue searching for an equaliser. Their pressure finally paid off seven minutes from the end of normal time, when Lina Boussaha scored from Soufia Belkhaled’s pass to level the match at 1-1.

The closing stages then produced another major twist. Morocco were awarded a penalty in the seventh minute of added time, giving them the opportunity to settle the match before a shootout.

However, Nouhaila Benzina was unable to convert from the spot. Her miss denied Morocco the chance to claim victory in normal time and evoked memories of another costly Moroccan penalty in a major African final.

Brahim Diaz missed a penalty for Morocco against Senegal in the men’s Africa Cup of Nations final, before Senegal went on to win 1-0. Benzina’s failure to score created a similar moment of frustration for the women’s side, although Morocco still had another opportunity to prevail in the shootout.

With the score level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, the third-place match went to penalties to determine which team would take home the bronze medal.

Algeria held their nerve to win the shootout 3-2. The result secured the bronze medal for the Algerian team and left Morocco to reflect on a match in which they had led for much of the contest, survived the cancellation of Atiq’s second-half goal and then missed a decisive penalty deep into stoppage time.

The match had appeared to be heading Morocco’s way after Azzraf’s first-half opener, but Algeria’s late equaliser changed the outcome. Boussaha’s goal restored parity with only a few minutes remaining, and the penalty shootout ultimately settled a closely fought encounter between the two North African teams.