The Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 qualifier in Durban next week has a vastly different feel to the previous two qualifying tournaments, as the sport goes into its third year of organised competition in Africa.
At the World Cup in Rio, Senegal and Nigeria shocked the world by topping their respective groups with some giant-killing victories before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Both teams have signalled their intention of dominating next week’s action, and have sent their squads away on month-long camps to prepare for the event.
The two African representatives may have fallen short of winning any medals in Brazil, but they showed the world Africa can produce world-class tournaments and players — something that will hopefully not be lost on Fifa when the decision on the venue for Beach Soccer World Cup 2011 is announced.
Next week, the third chapter in the story of African beach soccer will be written when the third qualifier to be held in Durban gets under way at the newly enlarged 4 300-seater stadium on New Beach.
Senegal and Nigeria will be the two marked teams and they may find it tough shouldering the pressure of being the favourites every time they step on to the sandy pitch.
At the World Cup finals in Rio, Senegal opened their account with a low-key 4-1 thrashing of Japan, and followed that up with an emphatic 5-2 win over the highly regarded Uruguay. Things got tougher in the final pool game when the West Africans needed extra time to get past the skilful Italians after the teams were level at 5-5 at the end of full-time.
Nigeria also started strongly with a shock 5-3 win over powerhouse Argentina. It got even better in their next match when the Africans produced the upset of the tournament. They scraped home on penalties over defending champions France, before, surprisingly, needing extra time to win their final match against the United Arab Emirates.
Nigeria lost to Uruguay in the quarterfinals and Senegal were beaten by France, but the two teams had made the world sit up and take notice.
The key to Nigeria’s success was the fact that they never had one standout star. Their game plan was built around a team effort with defenders Ogbonnaya Okemmiri and Uga Okpara sharing the goal-scoring duties with front-runner Isiaka Olawale. Their multipronged attack meant they were a difficult side to defend against, and the top teams struggled to contain the African onslaught.
Senegal, on the other hand, used Pape Koupaki as their target man up front and he was hugely effective with seven goals from his four matches on the beaches of Rio.
Next week, Senegal are the favourites to top Group A. The tag of underdogs may give home side South Africa, who have gone into the previous two tournaments as group favourites, a chance to prepare quietly and without fanfare.
The final group match between Egypt and South Africa will probably decide who grabs the second play-off spot from the group, although Mozambique will have other ideas.
In Group B, Nigeria will have to be at their best to overcome Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, while Cape Verde should find the going too tough.
The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semifinals, with the two semifinal winners qualifying for the World Cup finals in Marseilles in July. — Sapa