CAFCC: USM Alger deserved title — Lamine Ndiaye

USM Alger seasoned gaffer Lamine Ndiaye has reacted to his team’s feat after defying all odds to win the 2025-2025 CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) trophy in Egypt on Saturday, 16 May 2026.

The veteran mentor led the Algerian side to continental glory after beating the hosts, the White Knights, 8-7 on post-match penalties following a one-all aggregate score over two legs.

USM Alger lost the CAFCC final, second leg 1-0 at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday, but the tie was effectively level after having won by a similar margin in the first leg played in Algeria last week.

🎞️ RÉSUMÉ DU MATCH: L’USM Alger est sacrée championne après une victoire aux tirs au but face au Zamalek SC. 🏆#TotalEnergiesCAFCC pic.twitter.com/qUONn5VjVN

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC_fr) May 16, 2026

Ndiaye explains why USM Alger didn’t panic

Reflecting on the match in an interview with the CAF website, Ndiaye said his side deserved the crown because they were the better side in the context of the two legs.

“Our crowning as CAF Confederation Cup champions is well deserved,” he said. “We controlled most parts of the game. We stopped the strengths of Zamalek and played with all our power.”

The Senegalese mentor attributed the victory to mental preparedness, saying they had expected to play under pressure because of Zamalek SC’s home crowd.

“The scenario of the match was something we expected. I asked the players not to panic if we conceded early. We continued to play our football, created chances, and remained offensive,” the coach added.

Zamalek SC performance in numbers

The former TP Mazembe boss then cited statistics to paint a picture of how the Algerian Ligue 1 side dominated the CAFCC final second leg, despite going down 1-0 in regulation time.

“Zamalek had only 34 percent possession and only three shots on target, while we had six,” he said. “The numbers show the performance of my players.”

This is the second CAFCC silverware for the Algerians, who also won it in 2023 when they prevailed over Young Africans SC.

Zamalek have now fallen short in the continental cup for the second year running after having last won the cup in 2024. Last year, the Egyptian Premier League side lost 1-0 to Stellenbosch SC in the quarterfinal stage.

CHAMPIONS. 🌟🌟

USM Alger lift their second #TotalEnergiesCAFCC title. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gv05Nslckk

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) May 16, 2026