Debutant Sudan endure baptism of fire in Algeria

Algeria handed debutant Sudan a tough start to a first ever appearance in the TotalEnergies Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifiers after hitting 14 past the Sudanese on Wednesday.

Radia Fertoul's side were 9-0 up in the opening 45 minutes, first through Oum Srir's own goal before Naima Bouhenni-Benziane netted the second in the sixth minute at the Omar Hamadi Stadium in Algiers.

Koi Celia's 11th-minute strike was followed by Bouhenni-Benziane and Bouzid Wissam's brace before Abraham Amira's double and Bouhenni-Benziane scored her second eight minutes from half time.

The Fennecs were back to finish the business in the second half with Bohni Naima and Belkasmi Lydia netting the 10th and 11th goal of the encounter.

Coy Celia fired in Algeria’s 12th goal in the 67th minute before Bara Fatima notched the 13th four minutes later and Maroush Eman's strike completed the rout with eight minutes to go.

The heavy win thrust Algeria in an advantageous position ahead of visiting Sudan for this round’s second leg at Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman next Tuesday.

The huge first leg lead over the Sudanese, the Algerians will already be relishing a second-round showdown with a winner between South Africa and Mozambique in February next year.