Ghana's Black Sharks Eliminate Nigeria from AFCON 2026

Ghana’s Black Sharks secured qualification for the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal by defeating Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles 7-4 in the second leg of their qualifying tie held in Keta. This victory gave Ghana a 10-7 aggregate win over Nigeria.

The match took place at the Emancipation Beach Soccer Arena, following a 3-3 draw in the first leg in Kaduna. In the first leg, Nigeria's Isa Hamza Manga scored all three goals for the Super Sand Eagles, while Ghana's Mawuli Sosu and Wise Nyamadi contributed to the draw with two and one goals, respectively.

The match was marred by officiating controversy regarding extra time and a penalty shootout that should not have occurred. With the aggregate score tied before the return leg, Ghana capitalized on home advantage to eliminate Nigeria from the tournament.

This defeat marks a setback for Nigeria, a team with a proud history in African beach soccer, having previously won the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2007.