Algeria won in Mozambique this Sunday in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (0-2). A meeting marked by the spectacular tackle suffered by Youcef Atal in added time.
A mixture of fatigue and frustration. Dominguês, the captain of Mozambique, completely lost his nerve during the defeat against Algeria this Sunday in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup (0-2). In added time, the 40-year-old midfielder cut out Youcef Atal on the pitch at the Maputo stadium (more than 40,000 seats), the country’s capital. While the Fennecs right-back dribbled past him, Dominguês stopped him with an extremely dangerous tackle.
Several Algerian players intervened to criticize him for the violence of his intervention. Very tense, the UD player Songo, who spent most of his career in South Africa, particularly heated up with Nabil Bentaleb. Despite his attitude and his spectacular tackle, the Mozambique n°7 received a simple yellow card. A particularly lenient sanction which apparently calmed him down a little.
Suspended seven matches for relaying an anti-Semitic message
Once the tension had subsided a little, Dominguês (101 caps, 16 goals) went to check on Youcef Atal, remained on the ground and taken care of by the trainers. By giving the impression of apologizing to him for his uncontrolled gesture.
Suspended seven matches by the Professional Football League, the defender of l’OGC Nice returned to the field a month and a half after his last club appearance. The League sanctioned Atala for relaying an anti-Semitic video linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The 27-year-old full-back is also the target of an investigation by the Nice Public Prosecutor’s Office for “apology of terrorism”. He quickly made his mea culpa after sharing it on the networks: “I firmly condemn all forms of violence, wherever in the world, and I support all the victims,” he wrote. “I will never support a message from hatred. Peace is an ideal in which I firmly believe.”
