Algeria secured third place at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by beating Morocco 3-2 on penalties after the match finished 1-1, with Morocco missing a decisive penalty in the 97th minute before Algeria triumphed in the shootout.
How did the match unfold?
Morocco took an early lead in the third-place playoff, putting Algeria on the back foot for large stretches of the contest. However, the Algerian side fought back late in the game to level the score at 1-1, forcing the match into a tense finish that neither team could have predicted.
With the game deep into stoppage time, Morocco was awarded a penalty that could have sealed victory in normal time. Instead, the Moroccan player failed to convert the spot-kick in the 97th minute, keeping Algeria’s hopes alive and setting up a dramatic penalty shootout to decide who would leave the tournament with a podium finish.
Why did the penalty shootout matter so much?
The missed penalty proved decisive because it denied Morocco a chance to close out the game without needing a shootout, handing Algeria a lifeline they would not waste. In the ensuing penalties, Algeria held their nerve to win 3-2, completing one of the more chaotic conclusions to a third-place match in recent Women’s AFCON history.
It was a wild finish that no one saw coming until the very last kicks of the game, sources close to the match described.
What does this result mean going forward?
Finishing third gives Algeria a strong send-off from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, rewarding their resilience after trailing for much of the third-place playoff. For Morocco, the missed late penalty will sting as a costly moment that turned a likely victory into a heartbreaking defeat on penalties, leaving the team to reflect on fine margins as they look toward future tournaments.
