Rabat – For the Moroccan women’s national team, penalties have become an unexpected part of its recent WAFCON story. The penalty spot helped create one of the most memorable moments in the Atlas Lionesses’ rise in 2022. Four years later, it became the scene of two painful setbacks that ended Morocco’s hopes of winning the title or finishing on the podium.
Morocco’s 2026 WAFCON campaign ended in disappointment on home soil. The Atlas Lionesses were eliminated by Cameroon in the semi-finals after a 0-0 draw and a 3-1 defeat on penalties. Three days later, Morocco suffered another penalty-shootout loss, this time against Algeria, after a 1-1 draw in the third-place playoff.
The result left the hosts in fourth place and without a medal.
The penalty spot that created history
Morocco’s most important recent penalty shootout came at the 2022 WAFCON.
Playing in front of their home supporters, the Atlas Lionesses reached the semi-finals for the first time in their history. Standing between Morocco and a place in the final was Nigeria, one of the most successful teams in African women’s football.
The match finished 1-1 after 120 minutes, forcing the two teams into a penalty shootout.
Morocco held its nerve. The Atlas Lionesses converted all five of their attempts and defeated Nigeria 5-4 to reach their first-ever WAFCON final.
It was a historic achievement for Moroccan women’s football. The team had not only reached its first continental final but had done so by overcoming one of Africa’s traditional powers under enormous pressure.
The penalty spot, in that moment, represented confidence and resilience.
But Morocco’s journey after 2022 was not built around repeated shootout victories.
A different road to the 2024 final
Morocco returned to the WAFCON final in the 2024 edition, which was eventually played in 2025 after being postponed.
This time, penalties were not responsible for the team’s run to the final.
The Atlas Lionesses advanced through the knockout stages and defeated Mali 3-1 to book their place in the final. There was no semi-final penalty shootout against Ghana, and Morocco did not record another 4-2 shootout victory.
That distinction is important because it changes the story.
Morocco’s relationship with penalties was never a case of the team repeatedly winning shootouts on its way to consecutive finals. Instead, the penalty spot produced one historic victory in 2022 before becoming a source of heartbreak again in 2026.
Cameroon turns the story upside down
Four years after the historic victory over Nigeria, Morocco once again found itself facing a decisive penalty moment in a WAFCON semi-final.
The 2026 semi-final against Cameroon ended 0-0 after extra time. Morocco had the opportunity to settle the match before the shootout, but the chance was missed.
The match eventually went to penalties.
This time, the Atlas Lionesses could not reproduce their 2022 performance. Cameroon won the shootout 3-1 and advanced to the final.
The defeat was particularly painful because Morocco had been playing on home soil and was aiming to reach another WAFCON final.
The penalty spot, which had once delivered the biggest victory in the team’s history, had now ended its title hopes.
Another penalty setback against Algeria
Morocco still had an opportunity to rescue its tournament with a bronze medal.
The Atlas Lionesses faced Algeria in the third-place playoff on August 15. The match finished 1-1, forcing another penalty shootout.
Once again, Morocco failed to prevail.
Algeria won 3-2 on penalties to claim the bronze medal, while Morocco finished fourth.
The hosts had therefore lost two consecutive knockout matches through penalties.
One defeat had ended their hopes of reaching the final. The other had ended their hopes of finishing on the podium.
From historic triumph to painful defeats
The contrast between 2022 and 2026 is what makes the penalty story so striking.
Four years ago, Morocco stood at the penalty spot against Nigeria with a place in its first WAFCON final at stake. The players converted all five attempts and created history.
In 2026, the pressure produced a very different outcome.
Against Cameroon, Morocco lost the semi-final shootout 3-1. Against Algeria, the Atlas Lionesses lost the bronze-medal shootout 3-2.
The penalty spot had gone from being the setting for one of Morocco’s greatest achievements to the place where its 2026 campaign came to an end.
A curse or simply football?
Calling penalties a “curse” may be dramatic, but the contrast is difficult to ignore.
Morocco’s recent WAFCON history contains both sides of the penalty story. In 2022, the spot delivered a historic victory over Nigeria and sent the Atlas Lionesses into their first final. In 2026, it brought two defeats and left the hosts without a medal.
But penalties do not remember history.
A player who scored under pressure four years ago does not receive an advantage from that previous success. A team’s past record cannot guarantee its next shootout. Every kick is a new test of technique, concentration and composure.
For Morocco, the 2026 WAFCON provided a painful reminder of that reality.
The penalty spot once helped the Atlas Lionesses make history.
On home soil in 2026, it became the place where their tournament hopes disappeared.
For a team that has spent the past four years establishing itself among Africa’s leading women’s football nations, that disappointment will be difficult to forget. But it will also be another chapter in Morocco’s continuing rise, one that shows that even the strongest teams can find themselves on the wrong side of football’s most unforgiving moments.
