Algeria women's national football team

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 1970s. Algeria's first recorded match dates back on 1997. On 14 May 1998, the team played it first match against France in Cesson-Sévigné. The result was a heavy 0–14 defeat, which is still Algeria's worst result. Although the team was formed in 1997, a futsal team had played a game with Morocco in the same year, losing by 5–0.

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

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

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

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

In the 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, again held in South Africa. Algeria's only rival in the qualifying round was Mali. Their road to the Championship started on the 11th of July, as visitor. They drew with Mali 2–2. Bowhani and Zerrouki scored for Algeria. At home, Algeria won 1–0 thanks to Zerrouki's goal in the 15 minute. Algeria was drawn in 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.

The team had its debut with Nigeria on September 19, but they couldn't surpass them, losing by the score of 0–4. The second game was with Mali on September 22, and they recorded a 3–0 victory, their only win in the tournament. Sedhane, Imloul and Naïma Laouadi scored for Algeria in this game. With a chance to advance to the Semi-Finals, Algeria played their last game, facing Cameroon. Algeria's Nabila Imloul scored the first goal of the match, putting the team ahead 1–0. But Cameroon scored in the 29 minute to equalize the game. The final result was a 1–3 loss, resulting in elimination from the tournament.

In 2006, Algeria was part of the only Arab Women's Championship to the date, held in Egypt in April 2006. Algeria was in Group B along with Lebanon and Morocco. Algeria had their best result of all of their games in the first match with Lebanon on April 19, when they won 12–0. The second match against Morocco on April 21, ended in a goalless draw. Algeria advanced to the Semi-Finals with 4 points. In the Semi-Finals, the team won 3–0 against their neighbor country, Tunisia, thus advancing to the Final match, with Morocco. Algeria won 1–0 with a goal from Lilia Boumrar, and became the Champions of the only edition of Arab Women's Championship.

In the 2006 AWC/2007 World Cup qualifiers in March, Algeria entered into a World Cup qualifier for the first time 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 Libya 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 in a 1–0 victory in favor of Algeria, produced by Zerrouki's goal in the 57th minute. The second leg was away, in Alexandria on August the 5th. Algeria defeated Egypt with a 3–0 result. The team qualified for the 7th edition of the African Women's Championship, originally scheduled to be held in Gabon, but ultimately held in Nigeria due to organizational issues. The draw determined that Algeria would be in Group A along with hosts Nigeria, South Africa and Equatorial Guinea. The team didn't start well in the competition, as they lost the first game with South Africa 0–4. A worse result was registered in the second match, where Algeria faced the group favorites and 7-time champion of the tournament Nigeria. Algeria lost this match 0–6. The only point Algeria had in this edition was 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 failed to advance to the next stage and was eliminated from the 2007 Women's World Cup.

The 2007 All-Africa Games were held on home soil from July 10 to July 22. As hosts of the event, Algeria qualified automatically. They were drawn in Group B with Ghana and Senegal. They lost the first match with Ghana 1–2. They advanced to the Semi-Finals with a 3–1 victory over Senegal. The Semi-Final was with Nigeria, and ended in a 0–5 loss. Algeria then played the third place match against Ghana. The game ended in a 1–3 defeat, leaving Algeria with a fourth-place finish in the tournament.

The 2008 African Women's Championship 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.

In the 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.

In the 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.

In the 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 Naïma 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. 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.

In the 2011 All-Africa Games, Algeria entered the 2011 All-Africa Games football tournament qualifiers, but did not play 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 did not play 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.

In the 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. 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.

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

The Algeria women's national football team plays their home matches on the Stade du 5 Juillet.

• The following 30 players were called up originally for training camp in Algiers alongside friendly matches against Tanzania.[11][12]
• Match dates: 8 and 11 April 2023
• Caps and goals correct as of: 19 November 2022, after the match against  South Africa

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
16	1GK	Chloé N'gazi	(1996-09-06) 6 September 1996	4	0	Fleury
–	1GK	Amina Haleyi	(1992-09-10) 10 September 1992	1	0	Alger Centre
–	1GK	Lamia Lounas		0	0	Alger Centre
–	2DF	Sofia Guellati	(1992-07-09) 9 July 1992	8	1	Rodez
–	2DF	Morgane Belkhiter	(1995-11-23) 23 November 1995	12	2	Soyaux
–	2DF	Emma Smaali	(2001-06-25) 25 June 2001	0	0	RC Lens
18	2DF	Imane Chebel	(1995-05-25) 25 May 1995	13	0	Stade Brestois 29
–	2DF	Armelle Khellas	(2001-06-25) 25 June 2001	2	0	S.S. Lazio
19	2DF	Djoher Hadji		0	0	Afak Relizane
–	2DF	Lisa Jacob		0	0	FC Metz
–	2DF	Nabila Ouzai		0	0	Alger Centre
–	2DF	Wassila Alouache	(2000-07-11) 11 July 2000	4	0	Constantine
9	3MF	Ghoutia Karchouni	(1995-05-29) 29 May 1995	0	0	Inter Milan
–	3MF	Hanna Boubezari	(1998-11-21) 21 November 1998	1	1	Lidkopings FK
–	3MF	Sylia Koui	(1992-07-27) 27 July 1992	5	4	Nantes
–	3MF	Amira Ould Braham	(1998-02-17) 17 February 1998	3	3	Orléans
–	3MF	Lina Khelif	(1997-01-27) 27 January 1997	7	0	Toulouse
–	3MF	Anissa Lahmari	(1997-02-17) 17 February 1997	0	0	EA Guingamp
21	3MF	Léa Abadou	(1997-03-12) 12 March 1997	0	0	US Saint-Malo
–	3MF	Roseléne Khezami	(2001-09-02) 2 September 2001	1	0	US Orleans
22	3MF	Ikram Bahri	(2002-03-15) 15 March 2002	1	0	ASE Alger Centre
9	3MF	Myriem Nacer	(2002-02-15) 15 February 2002	0	0	RC Lens
20	3MF	Melissa Bethi	(2005-11-18) 18 November 2005	0	0	Olympique Lyonnais
–	3MF	Ikram Sidi Moussa	(2004-06-12) 12 June 2004	0	0	Le Havre AC
25	3MF	Leïla El Hadj	(2005-06-23) 23 June 2005	0	0	Olympique Lyonnais
27	4FW	Ikram Adjabi	(1998-03-25) 25 March 1998	4	1	GPSO 92 Issy
–	4FW	Inès Boutaleb	(1998-10-08) 8 October 1998	8	0	FC Metz
–	4FW	Naili Nihed	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001	1	0	Stade Brestois 29
11	4FW	Ghania Ayadi	(2003-09-07) 7 September 2003	0	0	CF Akbou
10	4FW	Imène Merrouche	(1994-04-25) 25 April 1994	17	5	Constantine
8	4FW	Wissem Bouzid	(2002-12-18) 18 December 2002	3	2	Orléans
14	4FW	Rahma Benaichouche		3	4	JF Khroub
–	4FW	Amélia Zemma	(2005-12-17) 17 December 2005	0	0	Olympique Lyonnais
–	4FW	Marine Dafeur	(1994-10-20) 20 October 1994	0	0	Fleury
–		Khouloud Ournani	(2003-07-23) 23 July 2003	1	0	CS Constantine

The following players have also been called up to the Algeria squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Assia Rabhi	(2000-10-25) 25 October 2000	0	0	CF Akbou	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
DF	Fatima Bara (Captain)	(1990-02-21) 21 February 1990	32	3	Alger Centre	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
DF	Louisa Djemai	(1998-10-19) 19 October 1998	1	0	Le Puy	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
MF	Fethia Benkheda	(1990-07-09) 9 July 1990	3	0	JF Khroub	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
MF	Nassima Bekhti	(2001-11-13) 13 November 2001	0	0	Le Mans FC	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
MF	Aïcha Hamidèche	(2001-10-02) 2 October 2001	0	0	Afak Relizane	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
FW	Khadidja Nefidssa	(2000-08-30) 30 August 2000	2	0	ASE Alger Centre	Training Camp, 13–21 February 2023
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE Preliminary squad. SUS Player is serving a suspension. WD Player withdrew for personal reasons.

Africa Women Cup of Nations

• 2010 African Women's Championship squad
• 2014 African Women's Championship squad
• 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations squad

UNAF Women's Tournament

• 2020 UNAF Women's Tournament squad

Arab Women's Cup

• 2021 Arab Women's Cup squad