Three more nations secured their spots in the second and final round of qualifying for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday with the most suspense coming in Egypt's clash with Rwanda.
Egypt advanced following a 2-2 second leg result at home in Ismaila, winning by a 3-2 aggregate score following last week's 1-0 victory in Kigali. The hosts got off to a strong start with Menna Tarek opening the scoring in the 6th minute with a header.
Rwanda responded to keep the tie interesting with an excellent curled effort from Usanase Zawadi in the 26th minute. Another goal would have put Rwanda ahead on the away goal rule but Habiba Essam gave the Egyptians breathing room in the second half by placing an effort into the top corner. Rwanda scored in stoppage time but it was too late for a comeback.
The other two matches had little at stake after Algeria and Mali previously secured lopsided first leg victories. Algeria defeated South Sudan by a 3-0 score at home to record an 8-0 aggregate victory while Mali confirmed a 10-1 aggregate victory over Gabon following their 4-1 second leg result in Bamako.
The first round concludes on Wednesday with nine second leg clashes set to take place to complete the pairings in the second round.
Results (2nd leg)
The Gambia 2-1 Niger
(The Gambia win 4-1 on aggregate)
Sierra Leone 1-3 Benin
(Benin win 5-2 on aggregate)
Egypt 2-2 Rwanda
(Egypt win 3-2 on aggregate)
Algeria 3-0 South Sudan
(Algeria win 8-0 on aggregate)
Mali 4-1 Gabon
(Mali win 10-1 on aggregate)
Wednesday Fixtures (2nd leg)
Ethiopia vs Uganda
(Uganda won the first leg 2-0)
Zimbabwe vs Angola
(Angola won first leg 2-1)
Namibia vs Eswatini
(Namibia won first leg 3-0)
Tunisia vs Kenya
(First leg ended 0-0)
Burkina Faso vs Burundi
(Burkina Faso won first leg 1-0)
Togo vs Djibouti
(Togo won first leg 5-0)
DR Congo vs Botswana
(DR Congo won first leg 2-0)
Cape Verde vs Guinea
(First leg ended 2-2)
Equatorial Guinea vs Tanzania
(Tanzania won first leg 3-1)
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