CAF Confederation Cup: Zamalek leave Algeria with slight lead after semifinal 1st leg

Following Juan Alvina’s first half goal, Egyptian giants Zamalek held on tight to secure a 1-0 first leg victory over Algerian hosts CR Belouizdad to kick off their CAF Confederation Cup semifinal clash.

🎞️ Match Highlights:
Bezerra’s goal secure an away win for Zamalek SC over CR Belouizdad in the #TotalEnergiesCAFCC semifinals! pic.twitter.com/x5SNYuk2OD

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 10, 2026

Brazilian forward Alvina made no mistake after Ahmed Fatouh’s pass was flicked into his path, producing a calm finish past CRB goalkeeper Farid Chaal to give the Cairo club an important away goal.

It was a frustrating match for the hosts in front of a packed crowd at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers. The opening goal came after CRB rattled the post of visiting goalkeeper El Mahdi Soliman for the first chance of the match.

Zamalek escape despite second half pressure

In addition, VAR disallowed an apparent 68th minute equalizer after Abdennour Belhocini was judged to have used his arm to control Soliman’s punch from a cross by Abderrahmane Meziani. Soon after, veteran keeper Soliman came up with an important save from Meziani’s low shot. Despite throwing numbers forward, the hosts failed to find a leveler when the full time whistle sounded.

The two teams will meet again for the second leg next Friday, where CR Belouizdad will need to score at least one goal to have any chance of reaching the final.