CAN Women's 2026: Farid Benstiti refuses to think too quickly about the final!

On the eve of the semi-final of the 2026 Women's AFCON Algeria - Malawi, Farid Benstiti calls on the Greens to stay focused before dreaming of a historic title.

On the eve (Note: today) of the semi-final of the 2026 Women's AFCON against Malawi, Farid Benstiti urged his players to keep their feet on the ground.

Present at the pre-match press conference, the national coach refuses to look too quickly towards the title: "We must first talk about this semi-final. There is still this stage and this step to climb before thinking about anything else."

Despite the historic significance of the meeting, the Algerian coach wants to maintain the approach that allowed the Greens to overturn Côte d'Ivoire in the quarter-finals (2-1).

"We must approach this meeting with a lot of humility, continue to progress in certain areas, and focus first on ourselves, then on our opponent," he explained.

Benstiti does acknowledge, however, that the prospect of a final is already crossing his mind. "Without hypocrisy, in a small corner of my head, I am obviously thinking about it. But Malawi has earned its qualification and its place in the last four," he confided.

Algeria will face Malawi on Wednesday, August 12, at 6 PM, at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat. Already qualified for their first Women's World Cup, scheduled for 2027 in Brazil, the Algerian team will now try to reach the continental final.