This year’s AFCON was a rollercoaster. We had drama, controversies, and thrill. The biased referee, towel scenario, and the Senegal walkout. Then Morocco had plenty of shots but missed, and the extra-time goal from Senegal. They lifted the title in the stands, but then the decision from the African football governing body declared Morocco the winner. Senegal appealed, and now the hearing is in October. This all was entertaining and messy.
From all this, the Women’s AFCON was delayed. There were so many speculations, but it all ended when, on July 26, we got the first game of the Women’s AFCON. On matchday one, we got some interesting games and some interesting results. But before that, let’s have a look at what we are going to have during this event. There are a few big clashes that we should watch and a few stars that will rise above all.
The tournament is scheduled from July 26 to August 16, where 16 teams are competing for this prestigious title. These teams are divided into four different groups, while Nigeria is the defending champion looking to reclaim this title.
On the opening day, we had a game between Algeria W and Senegal W, with Algeria dominating 2-0. The Algerian women’s team got a perfect start to the tournament, while last time they fell short in the quarter-finals against Ghana on penalties. On the other side, we had South Africa against Tanzania, where Tanzania grabbed a simple 2-1 win against South Africa. It was quite a disappointing start for the South African side, as last season they reached the semi-finals.
The biggest game was between Zambia and Egypt, where we had a scoreline of 6-0 in favor of Zambia. It was a devastating game for Egypt. They failed to restrict Zambia and failed to score as well. The last game of the matchday was between Nigeria and Malawi. The defending champions failed to get a perfect start. The game was a tough one for the defending champions, where they fell short by one goal, resulting in a 3-2 defeat.
The tournament is going on in Morocco, where three cities are hosting this mega event. Right now, only the Group D games remain, where Ghana will face Cape Verde and Cameroon will be up against Mali.
