Nigeria’s Beach Soccer national team, the Sand Eagles, suffered another 6-4 defeat to African champions Senegal in their second international friendly at the Murtala Muhammed Square in Kaduna on Monday.
The result means Senegal completed a double over the Sand Eagles, having recorded the same scoreline in Saturday’s first friendly between both sides.
Despite the back-to-back defeats, the Sand Eagles showed encouraging signs against the defending African champions, having gone into the two-match series without competitive international action for about two years.
Coach Abdullahi Isa’s side displayed even greater determination in the second encounter, with Hassan Abdullahi, Hamza Manga, Sodiq Umar and Hassan Abubakar getting on the scoresheet for Nigeria.
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Senegal, who are among the dominant forces in African beach soccer, found the net through Libasse Mbaye, Mamadou Sylla, Assane Ba, Mandione Laye Diagne and goalkeeper Oussaynou Faye.
Nigeria’s Godspower Igudia also unfortunately turned the ball into his own net, handing the visitors an additional goal in the closely fought encounter.
Hassan Abdullahi had earlier starred in the first friendly, scoring all four of Nigeria’s goals and earning the Man-of-the-Match award.
The two-match series provided the Sand Eagles with valuable preparation ahead of their 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations (BSAFCON) qualifying showdown with Ghana’s Black Sharks.
Nigeria will host Ghana in the first leg on Saturday, October 10, 2026, in Kaduna before travelling to Accra for the return fixture on Sunday, October 18.
The friendlies against Senegal offered Isa and his players an opportunity to regain match sharpness and fine-tune their tactical and technical preparations ahead of the crucial qualifiers.
Senegal, meanwhile, used the matches as part of their preparations for the 2026 BSAFCON itself, having already secured qualification as hosts.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has scheduled this year’s Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations finals to hold in Senegal from November 28 to December 6.
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