Africa: Match Facts – Tunisia and Algeria Clash in Historic North African Derby

Africa: Match Facts – Tunisia and Algeria Clash in Historic North African Derby


Tunisia and Algeria meet for the first time at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in a Group B encounter at the Père Jégo Stadium in Casablanca on Thursday (Kick-off: 17:00 local time / 16:00 GMT).

This is the first-ever WAFCON meeting between two North African nations that share a border – Tunisia and Algeria are separated by a 1,034-kilometre boundary stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sahara Desert.

It is only the second WAFCON fixture between North African nations in the tournament’s history. The first was Morocco’s 4-1 win over Egypt in the group stage of the 1998 edition.

Tunisia – Key Facts

· Tunisia began their campaign with a 3-0 loss to Nigeria – their heaviest defeat in WAFCON history.

· It was only the second time they had conceded three goals in a match, after a 3-2 loss to Mali in 2008.

· Tunisia are now on a four-game losing streak at the finals and have failed to score in all four of those matches, conceding five goals.

· They’ve gone 388 minutes without scoring at WAFCON, with their only win remaining the 4-1 triumph over Togo in 2022.

· Tunisia have never won their second group game at the finals. They drew 0-0 with Nigeria in 2008 and lost 1-0 to Zambia in 2022.

· A loss would mark the first time Tunisia have started a WAFCON campaign with back-to-back defeats.

· Against Nigeria, Tunisia completed just 97 passes — the first time they recorded fewer than 100 passes in a WAFCON match.

· They failed to register a single shot on target and had just 28% possession – both the lowest recorded across their last two tournament appearances.

· Goalkeeper Soulayma Jebrani made six saves from nine shots faced – the most she has made in a single WAFCON game (her fifth appearance).

Note: Tunisia’s stats exclude the 2022 repechage match against Senegal.

Algeria – Key Facts

· Opened their tournament with a 1-0 win over Botswana – their second-ever opening match win, the first being against Ghana in 2014.

· This is Algeria’s sixth WAFCON appearance, making them the most experienced North African side at the finals.