CAF Confederation Cup Final: USM Alger edge Zamalek in dramatic conclusion to first leg

USM Alger hold a slight upper hand in the final of the CAF Confederation Cup after a late Ahmed Khaldi penalty kick gave USMA a 1-0 first leg victory over Egypt’s Zamalek SC in Algiers.

The Algerian hosts’ goal-scoring problems this season were on full display at the Stade du 5 Juillet, where they made plenty of attacking forays forward but failed to seriously test Zamalek goalkeeper El Mahdi Soliman. Predictable efforts from USMA were repelled by a strong defense that was able to deal with numerous crosses and hopeful balls into the box.

For their part, the Egyptian club could very well have taken a lead back home. Chico Banza created danger on the counter-attack, with his shot across the six-yard box just failing to reach Oday Dabbagh close to halftime. Another opportunity was wasted by the Angolan soon after before the halftime whistle.

Goalless first half. Who opens the scoring first? 👀 #TotalEnergiesCAFCC pic.twitter.com/l2n5UZRNwJ

— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) May 9, 2026

VAR hands USMA the advantage in CAF Confederation Cup final

But in the end it was a dramatic VAR intervention that gave the Algerian Cup champions the one-goal advantage. Zamalek appeared to snatch a crucial away goal when Juan Alvina scored following a counter-attack. However, a foul in the opposite penalty area on defender Hossam Abdelmaguid saw the goal cancelled and a penalty kick awarded to USMA in a stunning reversal.

Ahmed Khaldi smashed his spot kick into the top corner to seal victory deep into stoppage time, setting up an intriguing second leg where the Egyptian giants will attempt to overturn the deficit at home against a subborn USMA defense.