Morocco’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final ended on Wednesday night after Cameroon eliminated the hosts 3-1 on penalties following a goalless semi-final in Rabat, Morocco World News reports.
Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina was the hero as she made four saves (three in the shootout and one in extra-time) to help her side reach a fourth WAFCON final.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock during 90 minutes, and another 30 minutes of extra time also failed to produce a goal, sending Morocco into a WAFCON semi-final shootout for the third consecutive tournament.
This time, however, the outcome went against the Atlas Lionesses.
Hanane Ait El Haj converted Morocco’s opening penalty, but the hosts then struggled from the spot. Kenza Chapelle, Maryame Atiq and Sakina Ouzraoui Diki all failed to convert their attempts, allowing Cameroon to take control of the shootout.
Marie Ngah and Bella Rose were among Cameroon’s successful takers, while Grâce Davila Mendoua missed her attempt.
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The defeat ended Morocco’s remarkable perfect record in WAFCON penalty shootouts. Before Wednesday’s match, the Atlas Lionesses had converted all nine penalties they had taken across shootout victories over Nigeria in the 2022 semi-final and Ghana at the same stage in 2024.
Those two victories had sent Morocco into back-to-back continental finals, but Cameroon prevented Jorge Vilda’s side from making it three in succession.
Morocco had entered the semi-final after defeating South Africa 2-1 in the quarter-finals, a victory that also secured automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Cameroon reached the last four after producing one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by eliminating defending champions Nigeria 1-0.
Cameroon will now meet Malawi in Sunday’s WAFCON final after the tournament debutants continued their extraordinary campaign with a 3-1 semi-final victory over Algeria earlier on Wednesday.
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Source: Complete Sports
