Pretoria (AFP) - A wonderful goal from Ahmed Khalidi caught the spotlight after he led the Algerian club USM Algiers to a surprise victory over its host, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, 3-1, on Sunday in the African Football Super Cup.
Published on: 08/11/2026 - 19:51
Khalidi scored the third goal for his team in the 55th minute, after firing a curling shot from inside the penalty area, which landed in the far corner of goalkeeper Ronen Williams' goal, thus deciding the result of the match that was temporarily stopped due to heavy rain.
USMA had surprised the hosts with an early goal after just four minutes, following a cross ball sent by Khalidi, before Zakaria Draoui turned it into the net, giving the Algerian team the lead against the CAF Champions League champion for the 2025-2026 season.
Sundowns succeeded in equalizing through Ikram Reiners (25), who came on as a substitute for injured Colombian striker Brian Leon early in the match, after successfully converting a penalty kick awarded after Ashraf Abada touched the ball with his hand inside the penalty area.
But the Algerian team quickly regained its lead (36), taking advantage of the Sundowns defense's inability to clear a corner ball, so that the ball bounced off the crossbar, before captain Saadi Redouani followed it up with his header into the net, scoring the second goal for USMA.
The start of the second half witnessed a delay of 30 minutes, due to heavy rain that flooded parts of the field, forcing workers to remove the water before play resumed.
With this coronation, USMA won a financial prize of $500,000, becoming the first Algerian club to win the African Super Cup twice in its history, after previously beating Al-Ahly of Egypt in the 2023 edition in the Saudi city of Taif.
The capital team had reserved its place in this confrontation after defeating Egyptian Zamalek on penalties in the final of the Confederation Cup, the second most important continental competition in Africa, during last season.
After obtaining an exemption from competing in the first preliminary round, and later qualifying after its competitor withdrew from the second preliminary round, USMA will begin the campaign to defend its title in the Confederation Cup by hosting Real Bamako Club of Mali in the group stage competitions scheduled to be held during this month.
On the other hand, Mamelodi Sundowns received a new continental blow, the second in just 17 days, after previously being surprisingly eliminated by Angola’s Welti in the second preliminary round of the Champions League for the 2026-2027 season.
It is noteworthy that the African Super Cup competition was launched in 1993, and its first edition witnessed the coronation of the Ivorian club Africa Sports, while the Egyptian Al-Ahly tops the list of the most successful clubs in the tournament, with eight titles.
© 2026 AFP
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