USM Alger won the African Confederation Cup for the second time in its history, after deciding the final match against Zamalek SC on penalties, 8-7, after the aggregate of the two home and away matches ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Algerian team was able to win the continental title under the leadership of its Senegalese coach, Lamine Ndiaye, to repeat the achievement of the 2023 edition and continue to confirm its strong presence on the scene. Africa.
Zamalek entered the second leg strongly, and succeeded in scoring the lead goal early in the fifth minute through the Palestinian Oday Dabbagh from a penalty kick, bringing the confrontation back to a draw point after the white team lost the first leg with an unanswered goal scored by Ahmed Khaldi from the penalty spot as well.
The match witnessed great excitement throughout its minutes, as the referee canceled a second goal in favor of Zamalek, signed by Mohamed Ismail, due to offside, and goalkeeper Mahdi Soliman suffered an early injury. It confused the Egyptian team's calculations.
In the second half, Zamalek's technical staff, led by Moatamed Gamal, tried to revitalize the offensive side through several changes, most notably the participation of Seifeddine Jaziri, Nasser Mansi, and Ahmed Abdel Rahim. However, USMA's defense succeeded in holding out until the end of regular time.
Coach Lamine N'Diaye also made several adjustments to the Algerian team's lineup during the second half to maintain balance, before the penalty shootout at the end. For the Capital Union, which celebrated a new African title amid the great joy of its fans.