Morocco's Zineb challenges Fadimatou of Cameroon | CAF website
Cameroon surprised everyone by beating hosts Morocco 3-1 on penalties on Wednesday night. This win took them to the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 after a tense semi-final that ended goalless in Rabat.
The Indomitable Lionesses showed great composure during the shootout at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium after 120 minutes of play ended without a goal. Morocco missed a key penalty in extra time when Fatima Tagnaout failed to score, according to a post-match report on the CAF website.
Tagnaout had a chance to send Morocco to the final in the 118th minute with a penalty kick, but she could not convert it, keeping the score at zero.
That miss proved to be very costly for Morocco as Cameroon went on to win the shootout.
Marie Ngah, Rose Bella, and Myriam Nyadjou scored for Cameroon, while Hanane Aït El Haj was the only one to score for Morocco. Kenza Chapelle, Meryem Atiq, and Sakina Ouzraoui all missed their penalties for the Atlas Lionesses, allowing Cameroon to reach their fourth WAFCON final.
This loss also ended Morocco’s hopes of making it to the final for a third time in a row.
The semi-final started slowly, with both teams careful not to take risks.
Morocco, cheered on by a lively home crowd, tried to take advantage of the wings and keep the ball. Cameroon stayed tight and disciplined in defense.
Neither team managed to create clear chances before half-time, as both defenses did well to contain the attacks.
Morocco picked up the pace after the break. Coach Jorge Vilda made changes to add more attacking power.
Ibtissam Jraidi and Nouhaila Badri came off, while Tagnaout was brought on to help the hosts find a goal.
Cameroon, however, held their ground and frustrated Morocco until the end of regular time.
Extra time came, and it seemed the match would go to penalties until Morocco got a big chance in the 118th minute.
Tagnaout stepped forward to take the penalty but missed, sending the game to a shootout.
Morocco had won their last two WAFCON semi-finals on penalties, against Nigeria in 2022 and Ghana in 2024.
But their luck changed this time.
Aït El Haj scored Morocco’s first penalty, but Chapelle missed the second one.
Ngah scored for Cameroon, but Grace Mendoua missed their next attempt.
Bella converted the third penalty for Cameroon, while Atiq could not score Morocco’s third.
Nyadjou scored Cameroon’s fourth penalty, leaving Ouzraoui needing to score to keep Morocco in the contest.
She missed, sealing Cameroon’s victory at 3-1 in the shootout.
This win is especially important for Cameroon, who lost their last three WAFCON shootouts, including a semi-final loss to Nigeria in 2018.
The Indomitable Lionesses have now knocked out defending champions Nigeria and hosts Morocco in consecutive knockout rounds to reach the final.
For Morocco, this defeat ends their quest to reach a third consecutive WAFCON final and win their first title on home ground.
Cameroon, on the other hand, is now just one win away from claiming the African women’s football championship.
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