WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire eliminated from WAFCON 2024 qualifying series
Cameroon, four-time finalists of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, will not play in next year’s tournament in Morocco after being eliminated by Kenya on Tuesday.
Cote d’Ivorie will also not be among the nations to play the tournament after they were also eliminated in the first round of qualifiers following the second leg matches.
The Indomitable Lionesses lost on penalties to Kenya while Cote d’Ivoire suffered a similar fate in their match against Tanzania.
Kenya 1-0 Cameroon (agg 1-1) Kenya win 4-3 on penalties
Goal: Shilwatso 75th
The WAFCON dream is over for the Indomitable Lionesses. Winner 1-0 in the first leg, Cameroon fell twice against Kenya. First in regulation time with Shilwatso’s goal, aided by an error from the Cameroonian goalkeeper, and then losing 4-3 in the fateful penalty shootout. For the first time since 1991, the Indomitable Lionesses will not participate in the final phase of the WAFCON.
Ethiopia 1-1 Burundi (agg 2-2) Burundi wins 5-3 on penalties
Goals: R. Asresahegn 19th / S. Niyonkuru 48th
The adventure continues for Burundi. After conceding the opening goal, the Swallows went looking for qualification for the next round with guts. More realistic and experienced, Gustave Niyonkuru’s players were more focused during the penalty shootout to advance.
Tanzania 2-0 Cote d’Ivoire (agg 2-2) Tanzania wins 5-3 on penalties
Goals: D. Minja 50th, O. Clement 52nd
A real bogeyman in women’s football on the continent, Cote d’Ivoire once again missed the chance to qualify for the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. After winning the first leg 2-0, the Elephantes fell to Tanzania.
Mauritius 0-3 Guinea (agg 11-0)
Goals: A. Camara 6th, M. Camara 33rd,38th
After thrashing the Mauritians 8-0 in the first leg, the Guineans finished the job with a 3-0 win in Port Louis.
Botswana 6-0 Gabon (agg 10-1)
Goals: L. Radiakanyo 6th, O. Gaonyadiwe 10th 30th, N. Baeletsi 40th, K. Dithebe 45+4, L. Gaofetoge 50th
After a 4-1 win in Franceville, Botswana won again against Gabon. A victory that allows the Zebras to face Kenya in the second round of qualifying.
Niger 1-5 Tunisia (agg 12-1)
Goals: A. Hamed 90th / S. Ellouzi 9th 49th, S. Mamay 15th, M. Houij 45+1, S. Zemzem 77th
Quarter-finalists of the last WAFCON, Tunisia continue on the road to Morocco 2024. The Carthage Eagles Ladies easily beat Niger.
Ghana 5-0 Rwanda (agg 12-0)
Goals: A. Kusi 22nd 26th 37th, E. Badu 42nd, S. Nyamekye 90+3
Another thrashing by the Black Queens. The Ghanaians left no chance for the Rwandans, after beating them 7-0 at home in the first leg.
Liberia 2-3 Cape Verde (agg 6-2)
Goals: P. Agbotsu 12th, H. Kpan 69th / E. Pereira 10th, A. Gomes 23rd, Kleydiana Borges 39th
The islanders narrowly avoided elimination but will be in the draw. In a fierce and intense match, Cape Verde beat Liberia 2-3. Trailing by 3 goals, the Liberians looked for an early breakthrough but left gaps for their opponents. Facing a faulty defence, Evy Pereira found the net. Agbotsu made up for this setback and leveled the match.Cape Verde improved their attacking moves with Gomes and Borges sending the West Africans into orbit. Kpan’s late goal did not change the fate of this game.
Benin 1-2 DR Congo (agg 4-2)
Goals: Y. Gnanmi 5th / M. Kanjinga 32nd 34th
The Democratic Republic of Congo advanced thanks to Merveille Kanjinga. With a saving brace, the Congolese player booked her team’s ticket to the second round.
Togo 6-0 Djibouti (agg 12-0)
Goals: S. Woedikou 4th 15th 40th, S. Koudjoukalo 31st 89th, Lucie Gantim 66th
In two games, Togo scored 13 goals against Djibouti without conceding. A well-deserved qualification for the Hawks ladies.
In other matches, Congo beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at the same time, Namibia defeated Gambia by the same score. These two winning teams will progress to the second round.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso also qualified for the next stage of the competition by beating Eswatini 3-0, as did Egypt who beat South Sudan 4-0. Draw between Algeria and Uganda 1-1.
The second round matches
- Mali-Guinea
- Senegal-Egypt
- Kenya-Botswana
- Nigeria-Cape Verde
- Angola-Zambia
- Ghana-Namibia
- Burkina Faso-South Africa
- Congo-Tunisia
- Tanzania-Togo
- Equatorial Guinea-DR Congo
- Algeria-Burundi
-cafonline
Despite wintry conditions in Blida, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, Nigeria’s U17 girls dug their feet into the ground on Friday night.
They achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medallists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the expected pressure from the hosts and then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponents.
Although they created better chances on the night, the Flamingos failed to make dominance in possession pay, but swiftly collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.
The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos, during which a brace by Queen Joseph and one each by Zainab Raji and substitute Aisha Animashaun ensured a 4-0 win.
The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from 17th October – 5th November. The final competition will entertain 24 teams for the very first time.
Since the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria have failed to make the finals only once – the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Despite heavy first leg loss, Algeria hopeful of a turnaround in Nigeria’s Flamingos clash
The Algeria U17 women’s national team still hope for a possible turnaround in this Friday night clash with Nigeria’s Flamingos.
Algeria lost 4-0 in the first leg match in Ikenne last Saturday.
The Algerians completed their preparations on Thursday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre, the eve of the return match against Nigeria.
The return match is scheduled for this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida. Aggregate winners will pick a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s 2025 World Cup.
According to sources in Algeria, all the players took part in the final session, during which coach Abdenour Mira finalised the tactical details for the make or mar encounter.
Despite the heavy defeat conceded in the first leg (4-0), the young Algerians approach this match with the desire to finish well and deliver an honourable performance against a formidable Nigerian team.
During the technical meeting held early in the afternoon at the FAF headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two teams and the organisers, it was decided that Algeria will play in green, while Nigeria will wear white.
The match will be officiated by Cameroonian Aline Marie Noelle Guimbang, assisted by her compatriot Laurie Marcelle Tsafack Teikeu and Chadian Victorine Ngarassoum.
The fourth official will also be Cameroonian, Innoncentia Njang Ntangti.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Under possible cold weather in Blida, Nigeria’s Flamingos set to grab World Cup ticket
The weather is most likely to be cold, but Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, are set to continue a tradition of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, which has had eight editions, out of which the Flamingos featured in seven.
Only Japan, with 100 per cent attendance, has featured in more competitions than Nigeria’s Flamingos.
They look poised to feature again after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifying series.
Apart from their opponents, Algeria, they have the expected cold weather to battle with at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers), on Friday night.
Friday’s encounter against their Algerian counterparts is the final leg of a final qualifying round fixture, with the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarterfinalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage.
The Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has scheduled the match to kick off at 8 pm, at a time when the winds will begin to blow in stronger from the Mediterranean Sea.
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