Algeria claim third place at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Morocco 3-2 on penalties in the third-place play-off. The teams are level 1-1 after regulation time, leading to a shootout that Algeria win.
Morocco misses key chances late in the match. Nouhaila Benzina has a penalty opportunity in stoppage time to potentially win the game, but her kick hits the post, and the match moves to penalties. The penalty awarded after a VAR check penalizes Algeria’s Lana Smits for catching Sakina Ouzraoui in the face with a flailing arm.
While outlets agree on the result and the 1-1 draw before the shootout, their emphasis differs: Yahoo Sports focuses on the late penalty incident and VAR decision, while other reports highlight Morocco’s repeated penalty shootout defeats and Algeria securing the bronze medal. Across coverage, the decisive shootout margin is the same.
