Nigeria’s Super Sand Eagles have missed out on qualification for the 2026 Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal after losing 7-4 to Ghana’s Black Sharks in the second leg of their qualifying tie in Keta on Sunday.

The defeat condemned Nigeria to a 10-7 aggregate loss, handing Ghana qualification for the continental tournament after the two-legged contest.

The Sand Eagles went into the decisive encounter with the tie level at 3-3 following the first leg in Kaduna, where Nigeria’s Isa Hamza Manga scored a hat-trick.

Ghana’s Mawuli Sosu scored twice in that encounter, while Wise Nyamadi added another goal for the Black Sharks to secure the draw.  

With qualification at stake in front of their home supporters, Ghana produced the decisive performance in Keta, scoring seven goals to overcome Nigeria’s four and settle the tie 10-7 on aggregate.

The result leaves Nigeria facing another disappointment in their bid to return to the continent’s premier beach soccer competition, having also failed to qualify for the 2024 edition after losing to Mauritania on the away-goals rule.  

For Ghana, the victory secures a place at the 2026 Beach Soccer AFCON and marks a successful conclusion to their qualifying campaign against their West African rivals.

The continental finals are scheduled to take place in Senegal from November 7 to 15, with the tournament also serving as Africa’s qualification pathway to the 2027 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.  

Nigeria’s failure to qualify means the two-time African champions will once again be absent from the continental showpiece, extending the challenge of rebuilding the Super Sand Eagles into a team capable of returning to the top level of African beach soccer.