Algeria women's national football team

Algeria
Nickname(s) الأفناك  (The Fennecs) [1]
Association Algerian Football Federation
Sub-confederation UNAF (North Africa)
Other affiliation UAFA (Arab Nations)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Azzedine Chih
Captain Fatima Sekouane
Top scorer Naima Bouhani (13)
Home stadium Stade 5 Juillet 1962
FIFA code ALG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 74 Increase 3 (25 March 2016)
Highest 64 (June 2009)
Lowest 125 (June 2013)
First international
 France 14–0 Algeria 
(Cesson-Sévigné, France, May 14, 1998)
Biggest win
 Algeria 12–0 Lebanon 
(Alexandria, Egypt, April 16, 2006)
Biggest defeat
 France 14–0 Algeria 
(Cesson-Sévigné, France, May 14, 1998)
Africa Women Cup of Nations
Appearances 4 (First in 2004)
Best result Group Stage (2004, 2006, 2010, 2014)

The Algeria women's national football team (Arabic: منتخب الجزائر لكرة القدم للسيدات) represents Algeria in international women's football. The team is currently ranked 79th in the world in the FIFA women's rankings. The team's highest ranking was 64th, in June 2009.[2] The team plays its home games at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and is coached by Azzedine Chih. Algeria played its first match on May 14, 1998 against France, and lost 14–0.

Algeria has never qualified for a World Cup. It has qualified four times for the African Women's Championship, in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014, all finishing in group stage. Algeria is expected to become the first Arab and Muslim nation to participate in a Women's World Cup.

History

Beginning

The Algerian Football Federation was founded in 1962, after the Algerian Independence. It joined the CAF in 1963 and FIFA in 1964. By this time, no nation in the world had an official women's football team, instead they appeared in the 70's. Algeria's first recorded match dates back of the late 90's on 14 May 1998, against their motherland, France in Cesson-Sévigné. The result was a heavy 14–0 defeat, that is still Algeria's worst result. Although the team was formed in 1998, a futsal team had played a game with Morocco a year before, in 1997, losing by 5–0.

First match

May 14, 1998
France  14–0 (6–0)  Algeria
Diacre  3', 17 (p)', 35'
Woock  36'
Roujas  41', 75', 83'
Lagrevol  44', 57', 70', 74'
Herbert  55'
Lattaf  67'
Pichon  70'
Report
Stade Dézerseul, Cesson-Sévigné
Referee: M. Jouglet

In 2000, Algeria disputed its second game, facing Morocco in Casablanca on 30 July 2000, in a qualifier for the 2000 AWC in South Africa. They didn't score in the match and it ended in a defeat by 3–0. The second leg in Algiers on 12 August finished with a 3–1 loss. The aggregate score resulted in 6–1.

The team was not registered on the qualifiers for the 2002 AWC, who took place in Nigeria.

2003 All-Africa Games

As no qualifying took place, Algeria was invited to the first women's football tournament of the All-Africa Games, in Nigeria. The team was paired in Group B with South Africa, DR Congo and Mali.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 South Africa 330091+89
 Mali 311132+14
 DR Congo 311156–14
 Algeria 3003311–80

The results weren't favorable as they lost the three games they played by crushing defeats. The first match was with DR Congo on 4 October. The final score was a 5–2 defeat. Three days later, on 7 October, they were beaten by South Africa with a scoreline of 3–1. Without any opportunity of advance to the Semi-Finals, Algeria played its last match with Mali and lost with a result of 3–0.

2004 African Women's Championship

The Algerian women's team qualified for the first championship in their history when they participated in the 2004 AWC, held in South Africa again. Algeria's only rival in the qualifying round was Mali. Their road to the Championship started on 11 July, as visitor. They drew with Mali 2–2. Bowhani and Zerrouki scored for Algeria. In home, Algeria won 1–0 thanks to Zerrouki's goal at the 15 minutes.

Algeria was drawn in the Group B with Nigeria, Cameroon and Mali, who qualified as a lucky loser because both DR Congo and Gabon (who were scheduled to play together in the qualifiers) withdrew.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Nigeria 321092+77
 Cameroon 312075+25
 Algeria 310247–33
 Mali 301228–61

The team had its debut with Nigeria on 19 September, but they can't surpass them, as they lost with the score of 4–0. The second game was with Mali on 22 September, and they had a victory of 3–0, the only in the tournament. Sedhane, Imloul and Laouadi scored for Algeria in this game. Having the chance of advance to the Semi-Finals, Algeria played their last game, facing Cameroon. Algeria's Nabila Imloul scored the first goal of the match, making the team won 1–0. But Cameroon score in the 29 minutes to equalise the game. The final result was a 3–1 loss, resulting in elimination from the tournament.

2006

2006 Arab Women's Championship

Algeria was part of the only Arab Women's Championship to the date, held in Egypt in April 2006. Algeria was in the Group B along with Lebanon and Morocco. Algeria had the best result of all of its games in the first game with Lebanon on 19 April, when they won by 12–0. The second match against Morocco on 21 April, ended in a goalless draw. Algeria advanced to the Semi-Finals with 4 points.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Algeria 2110120+124
 Morocco 211080+84
 Lebanon 2002020200

In the Semi-Finals, the team won 3–0 to their neighbor country, Tunisia, thus advancing to the Final match, with Morocco. With a goal of Lilia Boumrar, Algeria won 1–0, and become the Champions of the only edition of Arab Women's Championship.

Semi-finals Final
26 April - Alexandria
   Algeria   3  
   Tunisia   0  
 
29 April - Alexandria
       Algeria   1
     Morocco   0
Third place
26 April - Alexandria 29 April - Alexandria
   Egypt   2    Egypt   1
   Morocco (aet)   4      Tunisia   2

2006 AWC/2007 World Cup qualifiers

In March, Algeria entered for the first time in a World Cup qualifier as the 2006 AWC also served as the qualification tournament for the 2007 World Cup. The first scheduled rival for Algeria was Libya, but for unknown reasons it withdrew. Algeria advanced by walkover to the second qualifying round.

The second qualifying round rival was Northern Africa neighbors Egypt, who advanced to the Second Round by the withdrawal of Eritrea. The first leg, in Annaba on July 23, resulted on a victory in favor of Algeria with a 1–0, product of Zerrouki's goal at the 57 mins. The second leg was in away field, in Alexandria on August 5. Algeria defeated Egypt with a 3–0 result, being 1–0 at the half time. The team qualified for the 7th edition of the African Women's Championship, originally held in Gabon, but due to organizational issues, it ended to be held in Nigeria.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Nigeria 3300122+109
 South Africa 320162+46
 Equatorial Guinea 301259–41
 Algeria 3012313–101

The draw determined that Algeria would be in the Group A along with hosts Nigeria, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. The team didn't started well in the competition, as they lost the first game with South Africa in a 4–0 result. A worst result was registered on the second match, in were Algeria faced the group favorites and 7-times champion of the tournament Nigeria, they lost with a 6–0 scoreline. The only point Algeria had on this edition is thanks to the last match, a 3–3 draw with Equatorial Guinea. Boumrar (one goal) and Bouhani (two goals) scored for Algeria in this match. Algeria didn't advanced to the next stage and was eliminated from the 2007 Women's World Cup.

2007 All-Africa Games

The 2007 All-Africa Games were held on home soil from 10 July to 22 July. Algeria qualified automatically as being the hosts of the event. They were drawn in the Group B with Ghana and Senegal. They lost the first match with Ghana 2–1. They advanced to the Semi-Finals by a victory over Senegal by 3–1.

Team Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
 Ghana 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 6
 Algeria 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
 Senegal 2 0 0 2 1 6 5 0

The Semi-Final was with Nigeria, and ended in a 5–0 loss. Algeria, had to play the third place match against Ghana. The game ended in a 3–1 defeat, making Algeria finishing fourth in the tournament.

2008

2008 African Women's Championship

The 2008 edition was the second AWC that Algeria failed to qualify. The team played the First Round with Morocco and won with an aggregate score of 3–1, winning both legs by 1–0 and 2–1. Algeria advanced to the Second Round with Tunisia. The first leg in away soil, ended in a draw with no goals and the second (at home) resulted in a loss with the scoreline of 2–1. Algeria was eliminated and Tunisia qualified.

2008 Olympic Games qualifiers

For the 2008 Olympic Games, held in China, Algeria participated in the qualifiers, but didn't manage to get it. In the First Round, the Algerian team won 3–0 in the first leg with Mozambique and achieved one of the biggest wins in the second leg, by 9–1. The team advanced to the next round in where they faced Nigeria and won by 1–0, but had a loss in the second match by 6–0. Algeria were automatically eliminated after the aggregate score was 6–1.

2009 UNAF Women's Tournament

Algeria participated in the only edition of the UNAF Women's Tournament in Tunisia in November 2009. The team finished second after drawing with Egypt 1–1 and lost 1–0 against Tunisia.

2010 AWC/2011 World Cup qualifiers

Algeria entered for the second time in a World Cup qualifying round in the Preliminary Round of the 2010 AWC, against Egypt, but it later withdrew for unknown reasons. They advanced automatically to the First Round, in where they were drawn to play with Tunisia. The first leg was played in home soil on 22 May, in Koléa and the final result was 1–1. The goal for Algeria came in the extra time from Laouadi. In Tunis on 5 June, Algeria got its revenge for the last year loss, having a 1–0 victory. The aggregate result was 2–1 in favour of the Algerians, and thus, they qualified for the 2010 AWC in South Africa.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Equatorial Guinea 321063+37
 Cameroon 321064+27
 Ghana 31024623
 Algeria 30032530

In the Final tournament, Algeria's group was B, also the same of Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and Ghana. The opening match with Ghana, resulted in 2–1 defeat, with the only goal being scored Ouadah at the first four mins. The team was winning 1–0 in the half-time. The second game, with the 2008 Champion Equatorial Guinea, finished in a 1–0 loss. With no chances of qualifying to the next round, Algeria's closing match was against Cameroon, and this last result was a 2–1 defeat. Naima Bouhani scored the only goal for them. The half-time had a 0–0 draw. Algeria ended eliminated from both the 2010 AWC and the 2011 World Cup.

2011 All-Africa Games

Algeria entered the 2011 All-Africa Games football tournament qualifiers, but didn't played any match as it was the only entry from the Zone 1 (North Africa). In the final tournament, the team was in the Group A, with Cameroon, Guinea and Mozambique. The first match had no goals from part of Algeria, but three of Cameroon, that did one defeat to them. Algeria beat Mozambique by 7–1 with goals of Meflah, Bouhani, Bekhedda, Marek and Yahi. The team didn't played the game against Guinea, because it withdrew prior to playing the first match. Algeria advanced to the Semi-Finals, in where they lost with Ghana by the score of 3–0. The match for the bronze medal was the first victory to South Africa by 3–0. Zerrouki, Bouhani and Marek scored for Algeria and gave them the Bronze medal.

2014 AWC/2015 World Cup qualifiers

After not entering the 2012 African Women's Football Championship qualification, Algeria registered in the 2014 qualifiers. This time, their rival was Morocco. In the first leg in Stade Omar Hamadi, Naima Bouhani shined for contributing to victory with 2 goals. Algeria defeated its neighbor country by 2–0. The second leg in Rabat resulted in a goalless draw. The aggregate result was 2–0, that made Algeria advance to the Second Round.

Again in Stade Omar Hamadi, Algiers; Algeria received Tunisia in a chance to qualify to their fourth tournament. The goals of both teams were scored in the first time. The score was 2–1 in favour of the Algerians. Laifa and captain Sekouane scored. In Stade 15 Octobre, away soil; Algeria faced an aspirant Tunisia that tied the game in the half-time 2–2. Sekouane's goal at the 81 mins. put the match 3–2. Algeria qualified again with an aggregate score of 5–3.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Cameroon 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6 Knockout stage
2  South Africa 3 1 1 1 6 3 +3 4
3  Ghana 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4  Algeria 3 1 0 2 2 7 5 3
Source: CAF

The draw on 19 July 2014 in Windhoek, Namibia (host nation) indicated that Algeria would be in the Group B with South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana. This was the second time in a row that Algeria was in the same group as Cameroon and Ghana. The first match marked the second win (and first) of the Algerian team in the tournament in 10 years (the last being the 3–0 to Mali in 2004), against Ghana with a 1–0 from Affak near to the end of the game. In the second game, they lost 2–0 to Cameroon. The last result, against South Africa, wasn't very good, as they lost by 5–1. Houria Affak again scored for the national team. All of its games were played on the Independence Stadium in Windhoek. Once more, Algeria didn't reached the World Cup.

2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations

The 2016 tournament in Cameroon will have a new name, the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations, to be similar to the men's version, Africa Cup of Nations. A draw determined that Algeria's first rival will be Togo, one of Africa's nations with very few international matches. It is expected that the first leg will be played in Algeria on April 8–10 and the second leg in Togo around April 22–24.

Kit

Kit suppliers

Kit providers Period
Cirta Sport 1998–2001
Baliston 2002–2004
Le Coq Sportif 2004–2009
Puma (2010–2014)
Adidas
(2015-ongoing)

1st Kit

2004 AWC
2006 AWC
2010 AWC
2014 AWC
2016 AWCON

2nd Kit

2004 AWC
2006 AWC
2010 AWC
2014 AWC
2016 AWCON

Honours

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA Women's World Cup
Appearances: 0
Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
China 1991 Did not enter
Sweden 1995
United States 1999
United States 2003
China 2007 Did not qualify
Germany 2011
Canada 2015
France 2019 To be determined
Total0/8000000

Olympics record

Summer Olympics
Appearances: 0
Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
United States 1996 Did not enter
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008 Did not qualify
United Kingdom 2012 Did not enter
Brazil 2016
Total0/6000000

Africa Women Cup of Nations record

Africa Women Cup of Nations
Appearances: 4
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
1991Did not enter
1995
Nigeria 1998
South Africa 2000Did not qualify
Nigeria 2002Did not enter
South Africa 2004Round 16310247-3
Nigeria 2006Round 183012313-10
Equatorial Guinea 2008Did not qualify
South Africa 2010Round 17300325-3
Equatorial Guinea 2012Did not enter
Namibia 2014Round 17310227-5
Cameroon 2016Did not qualify
TotalRound 14/12122191132-21

African Games Record

African Games
Appearances: 3
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Nigeria 2003Round 173003311
Algeria 20074th Place44103511
Mozambique 2011Bronze Medal34202107
Republic of the Congo 2015Did not enter
2019To be determined
TotalBronze Medal3/5113081828

UNAF Women's Tournament record

UNAF Women's Tournament
Appearances: 1
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Tunisia 2009Runners-up2201112-1
TotalRunners-up1/1201112-1

Arab Women's Championship record

Arab Women's Championship
Appearances: 1
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Egypt 2006Winners14310160+16
TotalWinners1/14310160+16

Last matches and results

Date Location Opponent Score Competition
14 January 2014 Sidi Moussa  Senegal 1–2 Friendly
17 January 2014 Algiers  Senegal 3–0 Friendly
14 February 2014 Algiers  Morocco 2–0 2014 African Women's Championship qualification
1 March 2014 Rabat  Morocco 0–0 Friendly
30 April 2014 Algiers  Ivory Coast 1–3 Friendly
3 May 2014 Sidi Moussa  Ivory Coast 1–2 Friendly
23 May 2014 Algiers  Tunisia 2–1 2014 African Women's Championship qualification
8 June 2014 Bizerte  Tunisia 3–2 2014 African Women's Championship qualification
4 October 2014 Windhoek  Namibia 1–3 Friendly
12 October 2014 Windhoek  Ghana 1–0 2014 African Women's Championship
15 October 2014 Windhoek  Cameroon 0–2 2014 African Women's Championship
18 October 2014 Windhoek  South Africa 1–5 2014 African Women's Championship
8–10 April 2016 TBD, Algeria  Togo TBD 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification
22–24 April 2016 TBD, Togo  Togo TBD 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification

Current squad

Roster for the 2014 African Women's Championship.

Head coach: Azzedine Chih

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Kahina Takenint (1991-05-21) 21 May 1991 Algeria AS Sûreté Nationale
2 4FW Houria Affak (1988-07-11) 11 July 1988 Algeria ASE Alger Centre
3 2DF Houria Sedrati (1989-03-19) 19 March 1989 Algeria CS Constantine
4 2DF Fatima Sekouane (c) (1983-05-21) 21 May 1983 Algeria Affak Relizane
5 2DF Fatima Bara (1990-02-21) 21 February 1990 Algeria ASE Alger Centre
6 2DF Fayrouz Benyoub (1995-08-12) 12 August 1995 France AS Muret
7 3MF Nachida Laïfa (1982-10-17) 17 October 1982 Algeria ASE Alger Centre
8 3MF Lydia Mounia Miraoui (1991-09-24) 24 September 1991 France Claix Football Féminin
9 4FW Imene Merrouche (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 Algeria CS Constantine
10 2DF Habiba Sadou (1986-11-01) 1 November 1986 Algeria AS Sûreté Nationale
11 3MF Kenza Hadjar (1992-12-24) 24 December 1992 Algeria USF Béjaïa
12 2DF Keltoum Aouda (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 Algeria Affak Relizane
13 4FW Mahbouba Bekkouche (1984-04-29) 29 April 1984 Algeria JF Khroub
14 3MF Myriam Yasmine Benlazar (1995-06-09) 9 June 1995 France Toulouse FC
15 3MF Fethia Bekhedda (1990-07-09) 9 July 1990 Algeria Affak Relizane
16 1GK Asma Adda Chaïb (1991-03-23) 23 March 1991 Algeria CS Constantine
17 3MF Siham Boutechiche (1980-01-06) 6 January 1980 Algeria ASE Alger Centre
18 2DF Khadidja Khelifouche (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 Algeria ASE Alger Centre
19 4FW Naïma Benziane Bouheni (1985-10-23) 23 October 1985 Algeria Affak Relizane
20 3MF Sabrina Labiod (1986-06-17) 17 June 1986 France AS Muret
21 1GK Nadia Mazouz Algeria JF Khroub

Background and development

Women's football teams in the country have had to deal with killings around their matches.[4]

All-time record

References

External links

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