South Africa edge Algeria as TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON Morocco 2026 preparations continue
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South Africa women's national football team claimed a narrow 1–0 victory over Algeria women's national football team in an international friendly played in Durban on Tuesday, as both sides continued preparations for the upcoming 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.
The closely contested encounter formed part of both teams’ build-up programmes ahead of the continental showpiece, with an emphasis on tactical refinement, squad assessment, and match fitness.
South Africa have been drawn in a tough Group B alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, while Algeria find themselves pitted against the hosts, Morocco in Group A alongside Senegal and Kenya.
Tuesday’s encounter was the first of two, with the second scheduled for Friday, 17 April.
The hosts showed intent in wide areas, stretching the Algerian defence and creating pressure in the attacking third.
Their persistence paid off midway through the first half when a well-constructed move resulted in the well taken strike by Nthabiseng Majiya in the 35th minute
Algeria, meanwhile, adopted a disciplined and compact defensive approach, aiming to absorb pressure and launch counter-attacks. While they showed resilience, clear scoring opportunities remained limited in the opening period.
The fixture provided both sides with a crucial opportunity to test combinations and evaluate readiness ahead of the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.
For South Africa, the win offers momentum as they continue their preparations, while Algeria will take encouragement from a disciplined performance against one of the continent’s top-ranked teams.
The two nations are set to meet again later in the week, with the return encounter expected to offer further insights as both technical teams fine-tune their squads ahead of the tournament in Morocco.
