THE Supersand Eagles of Nigeria defeated their hosts Mauritania 5-4 yesterday in the first leg of their Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie in Nouakchott.
In their first competitive outing in five years, the Nigerian team endured some tense moments before claiming the crucial win.
Emeka Ogbonna and Taiwo Adams netted for the Supersand Eagles as they took a 2-1 lead in the first period, and they never looked back.
The second leg of the tie is scheduled for Nigeria on Saturday, with the winners on aggregate advancing to the Beach Soccer AFCON in Egypt.
The Supersand Eagles were one of the top teams in Africa in the 2000s and 2010s, qualifying for five Beach Soccer World Cups and reaching the quarter-finals twice, in 2006 and 2011.
They also won the Beach Soccer AFCON title twice, in 2007 and 2009, and earned silver in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2018.
However, the Supersand Eagles were disbanded by the Nigeria Football Federation in 2019 following a group stage exit at the World Cup in Paraguay.
