Ghoutia Karchouni’s well-taken early goal handed Algeria a narrow 1-0 victory over Botswana in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group B encounter in Casablanca on Sunday.
The win marked Algeria’s first at the continental showpiece since 2014 and only their third ever in tournament history.
It was a deserved triumph for the North Africans, who largely dominated proceedings, while Botswana struggled to generate meaningful chances.
The breakthrough came in the 10th minute following a fluid attacking move that began deep in Algeria’s half.
Inès Boutaleb was released down the right flank and delivered a precise cut-back into the box, which Karchouni met with a first-time finish into the bottom left corner.
Algeria came close to doubling their lead when Lina Boussaha’s cross-cum-shot narrowly missed the target.
Botswana’s goalkeeper, Sedilame Boseja, was then called into action with a superb full-stretch save to deny Marine Defeur’s curling free-kick — a strong contender for save of the tournament.
Botswana, making only their second WAFCON appearance, have now lost five matches in a row at the tournament. Frustratingly, four of those defeats have been by a single goal, underlining how competitive they’ve been without reaping rewards.
Mokgabo Thanda nearly brought Botswana level with a header that zipped just past the post, while their clearest chance fell to Laone Moloi, who found herself unmarked in the box but directed her header straight at Algeria’s keeper, Chloe N’Gazi.
Despite Boseja’s heroics in goal, producing several key stops, Botswana couldn’t find an equaliser as Algeria clung to their slender lead.
The result gives Algeria a promising start in their quest to reach the WAFCON knockout stage for the first time.
They next face regional rivals Tunisia on Thursday in a North African derby. Meanwhile, Botswana will have a mountain to climb as they prepare to take on nine-time champions Nigeria, who earlier dispatched Tunisia 3-0.
The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed sides, will progress to the quarter-finals.