Ivory Coast, the tournament’s most prolific attack, face Algeria’s meanest defence in Saturday’s WAFCON quarter-final in Casablanca, with a place in the semi-finals and a route to the 2027 World Cup at stake.
Ivory Coast have scored eight goals in the group stage, the joint-second highest tally in the tournament. Algeria, by contrast, have conceded only once in normal time across their last seven WAFCON matches, a defensive record built around goalkeeper Chloe N’Gazi.
Ivory Coast reached the knockout stage as one of the best-ranked runners-up after losing to Senegal in qualifying, but a 4-1 win over Burkina Faso and a 2-1 victory over Tanzania, with goals from Safi Ouedraogo and Ines Konan, carried them to the top of Group B ahead of 2022 champions South Africa.
“For me, Algeria are the best team at the WAFCON,” said Ivory Coast coach Reynald Pedros. He said his side’s attacking football would need to be matched by greater defensive discipline against an opponent he considers the tournament’s strongest, adding that Ivory Coast had studied Algeria closely and would look to impose its own style.
Captain Bernadette Amani Kakounan struck a similar note. “We are a young team, full of dreams,” she said.
Algeria, coached by Farid Benstiti, have been rebuilding since losing to hosts Ghana on penalties in the last edition’s quarter-finals. Benstiti took Pedros’s remarks as a compliment between friends, and said his squad, which includes players whose parents migrated to Europe by sea, carried a deep sense of purpose representing Algeria.
N’Gazi, who has kept six clean sheets in Algeria’s last seven WAFCON matches, said each group game had taught the team something different, from attacking more freely against Senegal to staying focused until the final whistle after conceding late chances against Kenya.
Algeria have won three, drawn two and lost five of their 10 previous WAFCON meetings with West African teams, most often against Ghana, whom they have faced four times. Saturday’s game will be their 11th such match, and Ivory Coast’s first at the tournament against North African opposition.
