A second CAF Confederation Cup title was secured by USM Alger after a dramatic 8-7 penalty shootout victory over Zamalek SC at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday night, Trybal News reports.
The Egyptian giants had forced the final level on aggregate after a 1-0 second-leg victory, matching the scoreline recorded by the Algerians in Algiers a week earlier. However, after neither side could find another breakthrough in a tense contest, the title was eventually decided from the penalty spot, where USM Alger held their nerve in front of a stunned home crowd.
The triumph marked USM Alger’s second Confederation Cup crown after their success in 2023. A place in next season’s CAF Super Cup was also secured, where they will face either Mamelodi Sundowns or FAR Rabat. The victory also earned the Algerian club a record prize money of $4 million following CAF’s increase in the competition rewards.
Driven on by a packed stadium and a colourful pre-match tifo from supporters, Zamalek started the match with urgency as they looked to overturn the first-leg deficit.
An early breakthrough was delivered almost immediately. In the second minute, Adam Kayed was brought down inside the penalty area after a challenge from Che Malone, and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Palestinian forward Oday Al-Dabbagh calmly converted in the fifth minute, sending Osama Benbout the wrong way and sparking huge celebrations inside the stadium.
The goal restored parity on aggregate and lifted the atmosphere among the home supporters, who sensed another famous continental comeback.
Zamalek thought a second goal had arrived in the 14th minute when Mohamed Ismail finished from close range after a clever knockdown by Juan Bezerra. However, celebrations were cut short after the assistant referee raised the offside flag.
Gradually, USM Alger settled into the contest and began to threaten through Ahmed Khaldi, whose movement and shooting caused constant problems for the hosts.
Islam Merili almost levelled the match midway through the first half when his powerful free-kick flew narrowly over the crossbar, while Khaldi later saw a dangerous header drift wide.
Another setback was suffered by Zamalek in the 29th minute after goalkeeper El Mahdi Slimane was forced off with injury. Mohamed Awad replaced him for his first appearance in 111 days and was immediately tested, producing an excellent save to deny Khaldi before half-time.
A different pattern was seen after the restart as possession was dominated by USM Alger, while Zamalek increasingly sat deeper to protect their narrow advantage.
Khaldi remained the biggest danger for the visitors and twice came close during the second half, first firing narrowly wide in the 54th minute before blazing another promising effort over the crossbar moments later.
Despite being pushed back, Zamalek still threatened on the counter attack. Nasser Mansi almost delivered the decisive goal in the 85th minute when his powerful header looked destined for the net, but Benbout produced a brilliant fingertip save to keep USM Alger alive.
That moment proved decisive as the final moved into penalties after no further goals could separate the teams.
Remarkable composure was shown by both sides as their opening seven penalties were all converted. Abdullah El-Said, Hossam Abdel-Maguid, Seif El-Jaziri and Bezerra all scored for Zamalek, while Khaldi, Zakaria Draoui, Radouani and Ben Ayad responded for the Algerians.
The decisive turning point finally arrived when Mohamed Shehata blasted Zamalek’s eighth penalty over the crossbar.
USM Alger substitute Tending then stepped forward and calmly converted the winning kick, sparking wild celebrations among the travelling supporters and players.
For Zamalek, it was a painful end to a campaign that had promised so much. It was also the first time the Egyptian club had lost a continental final through penalties after previously maintaining a perfect shootout record.
Meanwhile, another major continental achievement was added to the résumé of coach Lamine Ndiaye as USM Alger once again etched their name into African football history.
