Algeria, Algeria – Zamalek of Egypt suffered a dramatic defeat against their host, USM Alger of Algeria, by a score of 1-0, in the match that brought them together on Saturday evening at the July 5 Stadium, as part of the first leg of the African Confederation Cup final.
Zamalek started the match strongly and almost opened the scoring early in the sixth minute, after Oday Al-Dabbagh led a quick counter-attack and sent a low cross, which Chico Banza met with a touch that easily reached the home team’s goalkeeper.
USM Alger responded with a dangerous attempt by Zakaria Draoui in the 22nd minute, but his shot went just wide of the post.
In the second half, Al-Dabbagh scored a goal for Zamalek in the 67th minute, but the referee cancelled it due to a foul on Chico Banza before the ball was scored.
The final minutes were very exciting, after Juan Bezerra managed to score for Zamalek in stoppage time, but referee Dahane Beida went back to the video technology and canceled the goal, awarding a penalty kick to USM Alger after a foul on Hossam Abdel-Maguid.
أحمد خالدي يسجل هدف المباراة الوحيد من علامة الجزاء
ذهاب نهائي كأس الاتحاد الإفريقي : اتحاد الجزائر 1-0 الزمالك #كأس_الاتحاد_الإفريقي pic.twitter.com/6Tk87VrJwx
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) May 9, 2026Zamalek’s woes deepened when Mahmoud Bentayk received a red card for dissent. Then, in the 98th minute, Ahmed Khaldi scored a dramatic winning goal from the penalty spot.
With this result, the title decision is postponed until the return leg scheduled to be held in Cairo on May 16, where Zamalek will be looking to make a comeback and compensate for the first-leg loss in order to win the continental championship.
