Senegal, Egypt bow out of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
Senegal and Egypt’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup campaign officially came to an end on Tuesday, 20 February after both sides were eliminated during the group stages of the ongoing competition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The two nations represented Africa at the global showpiece following their success in the CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations held in Mozambique in 2022, where Senegal were crowned champions in the final against Egypt.
Despite Egypt’s two consecutive losses against hosts, UAE (2-1) and Italy (6-2), the North Africans put up a good fight in their last fixture which ended in a narrow 6-5 defeat to the USA.
The African champions on the other hand were on the verge of qualifying for the knockout phase after doing well to bounce back from a 6-4 loss to Belarus, to overcoming Colombia 5-3 to set up a deciding clash with Japan in their final Group C match.
It was however not meant to be for the West African nation, as they suffered a close 6-4 defeat to Japan, which also spelt the end of their campaign.
Meanwhile, the COSAFA region will be hosting its Beach Soccer Championship this year, with the official dates, venues and participating nations to be announced in due course.
The last edition was held in Durban, South Africa in 2022.