West Ham United Women defender Inès Belloumou suffered Women’s Africa Cup of Nations heartbreak as Algeria were beaten 3-1 by Malawi in Wednesday’s semi-final in Rabat.
Belloumou started for Algeria as they attempted to reach the WAFCON final for the first time in their history, but Malawi’s Chawinga sisters proved decisive.
ReadWestHam previewed Belloumou’s huge semi-final opportunity on Wednesday, with Algeria already guaranteed a historic place at the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Their hopes of adding a continental final to that achievement are now over.
Ines Belloumou and Algeria denied WAFCON final
Algeria’s task became considerably harder when Morgane Belkhiter was sent off after 23 minutes.
Tabitha Chawinga put Malawi ahead 10 minutes later before her younger sister Temwa doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time.
Malawi were also reduced to 10 players before the interval when Rose Kadzere received a second yellow card, giving Algeria hope of mounting a comeback.
Ikram Adjabi pulled one back after an hour and Algeria pushed hard for an equaliser, but they could not find another way past Malawi goalkeeper Mercy Sikelo.
Tabitha Chawinga then scored her second in the 76th minute to seal a 3-1 victory and send Malawi into the final on their first WAFCON appearance.
ESPN’s match report and line-ups confirm Belloumou was part of the Algeria side beaten in Rabat, while FemGol reported that Algeria produced 23 shots and nine efforts on target despite the defeat.
Belloumou can still leave Morocco having been part of a historic tournament for her country.
Algeria reached their first WAFCON semi-final and secured qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will also be their first appearance at the tournament.
Their competition is not quite finished either.
Algeria will play in the third-place match on Saturday 15 August, giving Belloumou one more opportunity to finish a memorable international summer with a victory before returning to West Ham.
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