The women’s senior national football team of Cameroon will miss the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) for the second consecutive time in their history.
The Indomitable Lionesses suffered the huge setback after losing to Algeria 3-1 on aggregate during the second and final round qualifiers for the 2026 WAFCON.
The Central African nation, once heralded as a continental superpower, lost the first-leg 2-1 a week ago in Oran. To seal their spot for the women’s tournament, the Indomitable Lionesses had to score at least twice without conceding.
With the Indomitable Lionesses out of form and desperate to win, securing qualification was always going to be a tough task.
Their defensive vulnerability has been consistently exposed and their troubles deepened further.
They got off to the worst possible start when Marine Dafeur scored the solitary goal for Algeria to make the task harder for the Cameroon national team.
The hosts were a shadow of their once efficient machinery. They tried to turn things around but were not good enough in the final third.
Their lone effort in the first half was a long-range strike from Ngah Manga at the stroke of halftime.
They played with more purpose in the second half. They were in complete control and pinned their rivals to their own half.
Despite their spells of pressure, they failed to capitalize on it. They had chances Nchout Njoya Ajara, who fired from outside the box and also missed a golden opportunity to score from close range. Lamine Mana also put defenders on their toes.
The defeat means that the women’s national team of Cameroon will miss out from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
🔴 Les Lionnes indomptables s’inclinent face à l’Algérie (1-0, Cumul 3-1) à domicile et NE DISPUTERONT PAS la CAN Féminine 2026. ❌🇨🇲
— AllezLesLions (@AllezLesLions) October 28, 2025
Le Cameroun manquera le rendez-vous continental féminin pour la deuxième fois d’affilée. INÉDIT. INACCEPTABLE. 😡
📸 @LesVerts @FAFAlgeria pic.twitter.com/bEEqygmky4
The tournament serves as qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Algeria on the other side are through to the WAFCON for the seventh time in their history.
It is also the first time since they have qualified for back-to-back editions since their participation in 2004 and 2006. During their last participation in 2024, they reached the quarter-final.
The Cameroon women’s team was poised to make a return to the WAFCON after missing out from the 2025 edition for the first time since 1991.
🔴 Jean-Baptiste Bisseck n’y arrive pas du tout à la tête de l’équipe nationale féminine depuis son arrivée en août 2023 :
— AllezLesLions (@AllezLesLions) October 28, 2025
▪️Non qualification pour la CAN 2024 ❌
▪️Non qualification pour les Jeux Olympiques 2024 ❌
▪️Non qualification pour la CAN 2026 ❌
Échec total. 👎🇨🇲 pic.twitter.com/GZYnn7ho6J
The setback cost captain Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene and her teammates a place at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.
Cameroon has featured at the Women’s AFCON 13 times and have finished runners-up three times in 2004, 2014, and 2016 when they staged the competition.
The 2026 Women’s AFCON will take place in Morocco. The biennial competition is scheduled to run from March 17-April 3.
Slim hope for lionesses?
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) had announced that the women’s AFCON will expand from 12 to 16 teams starting from the 2026 edition.
This decision means that the expansion will likely require a third round preliminary to be played, with the 11 remaining nations competing for four spots.
According to BBC Sport, CAF is expected to announce further details after discussions at its executive committee meeting held in Kinshasa.
This could be a second opportunity for Cameroon to qualify.
Summary:
First-leg: Algeria 2-1 Cameroon
Second leg: Cameroon 0-1 Algeria