Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles have been drawn into Group B, for the 2018 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, scheduled to hold from December 9th to the 14th of December at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The two time African champion will take on defending champion and four-time winners, Senegal, and also slug it out with Libya and Tanzania. The Super Sand Eagles won the competition twice, when hosted in Durban, South Africa, in 2007 and 2009.
In the final of the last edition of the biennial championship hosted in Lagos, the Super Sand Eagles lost 8-4 to Senegal, and will be looking forward to a rematch when they meet in December.
In Group A, hosts Egypt will take on Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, and Madagascar. The winner and runner up of the 2018 Beach Soccer AFCON, will qualify for the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, to be hosted by Paraguay.
The Nigerian team suffered an early elimination at the 2017 Beach Soccer World Cup, in Bahamas, due to a well of reasons, including the evident sparse tactical know-how of the coaching team, and the cluster of longstanding bland players.
It is the hope of fans that the management of the national team would take a cue from last year’s games and effect the much needed changes pending the start of the AFCON tourney.