MATCH STATS: TP Mazembe and FC Masar battle it out for bronze medal

TP Mazembe and FC Masar meet in the CAF Women’s Champions League third-place play-off at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia on Friday, each looking to end their campaign with the consolation of a bronze medal in what will be the first ever meeting between the sides.

It is also the second consecutive edition in which both have reached the last four; Mazembe were champions in 2024, while Masar finished third, and both have become reliable performers deep into the tournament.

Mazembe come into the game with a history of success against Egyptian opposition, having beaten Wadi Degla 1-0 on debut in 2022, while Masar continue their record of facing Central African sides after claiming a 5-0 win over Equatorial Guinea’s FC 15 de Agosto earlier in the current edition, their biggest victory at the finals. Mazembe also have experience against host clubs, having beaten AS FAR 1-0 in Rabat to lift the 2024 title.

This year’s play-off is the fifth at the finals. Three previous games were settled in open play, while only one, in 2024,went to penalties, when Masar and Edo Queens drew 0-0 before the Egyptians won the shoot-out 4-3.

A win for either side on Friday would make them only the third club to finish in the top three in successive tournaments, after AS FAR and Mamelodi Sundowns. Masar have scored six goals from 19 shots on target with a tournament-leading conversion rate of 18.18%, while Mazembe have scored seven with a rate of 14.58%.

Mazembe have made 924 successful passes to Masar’s 851, a statistic that again places them just behind AS FAR, who have completed 1,300.

TP Mazembe – Key Statistics

• Lost their Semi-final to AS FAR on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
• Remain unbeaten in open play in knockout matches (W2 D1).
• Second defending champions to fall at the Semi-finals after AS FAR in 2023.
• Second team to contest a third-place match as defending champions after AS FAR in 2023.
• Two Mazembe Semi-finals have gone to extra time: a 3-1 win over Edo Queens in 2024 and the defeat to AS FAR this year.
• Have taken part in only one penalty shoot-out at the finals, this year’s loss to AS FAR.
• The draw with AS FAR was their first at the finals after 11 straight games producing a winner.
• Scored seven goals in four games this year; had 10 at the same stage in 2024.
• Currently on a three-match unbeaten run, equalling their longest streak from 2024.
• Had just 36.1% possession against AS FAR, their lowest of the tournament.
• Completed 162 passes against AS FAR, also a tournament low.
• Shanise Foster won possession 11 times and lost it 29 times in that match, both the most in the game.
• Opened the current finals with a 1-0 loss to ASEC Mimosas, then beat Gaborone United 3-0 and JKT Queens 4-1 before the penalty defeat to AS FAR.
• Have failed to score in two games; in 2024 they scored in all matches, but in 2022 they also failed to score twice.
• Could fail to score in three games at one edition for the first time.
• Have kept three clean sheets and can equal their record (three in 2024) with another here.
• Conceded just two goals so far; they had conceded four at this stage in 2024.

FC Masar – Key Statistics

• First team to lose successive Semi-finals after a 1-0 defeat to ASEC Mimosas.
• Saw a four-match unbeaten run at the finals end in the Semi-final.
• Have conceded in back-to-back matches and have never conceded in three straight.
• Second team to play in two third-place matches after AS FAR, who won in 2021 and 2023.
• A win would make them the first club with consecutive third-place finishes.
• Could become the second club to finish third twice after AS FAR.
• First host nation club to appear in a third-place match.
• Five of their six goals have come in the second half.
• Have not scored before the 40th minute; earliest goal was in the 41st minute versus Gaborone United.
• Conceded two goals in four games; they had conceded three by this point in 2024.
• Kept three clean sheets last year and can match that with another here.
• Won two matches in open play in 2024; can equal that with a victory on Friday.
• Both tournament losses have come in Semi-finals.
• Their only penalty shoot-out was the 2024 third-place match win over Edo Queens after a 0-0 draw.
• Goalkeeper Habiba Emad has made 12 saves, joint-most with Mazembe’s Jessica Mpika.
• Emad and Mpika have conceded only two goals each, the joint third-fewest among the Semi-final teams.
• Mahira Ali has created 13 chances, the most of any player, and leads the competition with three assists.