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Ed Dove
Multiple Authors
MOROCCO — Algeria has become the first team to secure a spot in the semifinals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, overcoming the Ivory Coast with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Inès Khiri and Amira Ould Braham, who responded to Inès Konan‘s opening goal for the Ivorians during the quarterfinal match held in Casablanca on Saturday.
The Elephants, who have been one of the tournament’s surprises, fell victim to their own mistakes, including two critical goalkeeping blunders, a red card, and a squandered penalty, ultimately leading to their defeat.
With this victory, Algeria has not only advanced to the semifinals but also booked their place in next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The Ivory Coast still has a chance, as they will play in a playoff in Casablanca on Thursday to try to reach the inter-confederation playoff stage.
Prior to the match, there were rumors of a potential strike by the Elephants due to disputes over bonuses. However, they showed little sign of unrest in a dynamic first thirty minutes.
The Fennecs faced an early challenge when fullback Morgane Ikene had to be subbed out due to injury, with Morgane Belkhiter coming in. Just ten minutes later, the Elephants took the lead when Kone finished from close range after Chloe N’Gazi parried a shot into his path.
Algeria argued that a foul had been committed by Ouedraogo, who had knocked Belkhiter over before taking her shot, but the referee did not agree.
Despite their impressive play, the Elephants inflicted damage on themselves just before half-time when Ouedraogo was harshly shown a red card after a VAR review for a high boot on N’Gazi.
Ouedraogo had previously shown her skill with a splendid solo goal, navigating past Lana Smits before finding the back of the net from a tight angle, only to be ruled offside.
This left Algeria to exploit the numerical advantage for the entire second half, prompting coach Farid Benstiti to replace two players at halftime, with Khiri and Ikram Adjabi coming on to enhance their attacking game.
Credit to the Elephants, they maintained their composure and earned a penalty just four minutes later when Roselène Khezami fouled Frederique Abrogoua. Rebecca Elloh stepped up to take the penalty, but her shot hit the post, denying them a crucial chance to retake the lead.
Two minutes later, Algeria made them pay for the miss. Ould Braham, who had been lively throughout, netted the winner in the 64th minute with another long-range shot that Diakité failed to adequately handle.
The Ivory Coast thought they had secured another penalty shortly afterward when Elloh was brought down in the box during a time of increased pressure. However, an offside judgment negated their hopes.
This sequence marked a drastic turn for the Elephants, who lost control of the match and allowed Algeria to progress to their first WAFCON semifinals and their inaugural World Cup appearance.