Morocco and Algeria meet in a pivotal North African derby on Thursday in Rabat, with a place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations effectively on the line for the winner.
The Group stage clash will be played at Stade Moulay El Hassan in the Moroccan capital, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 in France, and 21:00 local time in both Morocco and Algeria.
Both sides made winning starts to their campaigns and know a second successive victory would secure the first confirmed ticket to the knockout phase of this Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. The team that loses will have to wait until the third and final group fixture to discover whether their tournament continues.
How to watch in France, Morocco and Algeria
In France, the match will be broadcast by beIN Sports, which has moved to show the fixture live after criticism from viewers who complained that the channel did not air the opening matches.
In Morocco and Algeria, the game will be available on beIN Sports Mena 6. Moroccan viewers will also be able to watch live coverage on Arryadia, which is showing the match exclusively within the country alongside the regional beIN feed.
Morocco and Algeria aiming to build on perfect starts
Hosts Morocco opened their tournament in emphatic fashion, sweeping aside Kenya 4-0 at home. Sakina Ouzraoui and Maryem Atiq were both on the scoresheet, while Ibtissam Jraidi added a brace to complete a dominant performance.
Algeria also began with a convincing result, defeating Senegal 2-0. Marine Dafeur and Melissa Bethi provided the goals as the Algerian side made a confident start to their group campaign.
With both teams entering the second round of fixtures on three points, Thursday’s meeting has become the standout tie in the group, carrying both sporting importance and added regional spice.
First meeting since 2020 and backdrop of controversy
The match in Rabat will be the first time the two women’s national teams have faced each other since 22 February 2020. That encounter came in qualifying for the same year’s edition of the competition, which was ultimately cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. On that occasion, Morocco claimed a 2-0 away victory.
This latest contest will also mark the first on-pitch meeting between the nations since a controversy overshadowed the previous edition of the tournament. During that competition, the Algerian delegation was suspected of avoiding any reference to Morocco as the host country in its public communications, whether in speeches or on visual material.
Those tensions provide an additional backdrop to what is already one of North Africa’s most keenly watched derbies. But on Thursday night in Rabat, the focus will return to the pitch, with both teams chasing an early place in the last eight of the continent’s showpiece women’s tournament.
