Crashout of FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the group stages
Senegal and Egypt’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup campaign officially ended 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. Senegal was crowned champion 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.
On the other hand, the African champions 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 spelled the end of their campaign.
Meanwhile, the COSAFA region will host 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.
