The Sand Eagles were beaten 6-4 by reigning African champions Senegal in the first of their two international friendly matches in Kaduna on Saturday, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The encounter at the Murtala Muhammed Square Beach Soccer Pitch produced an entertaining contest, with Nigeria putting up a strong challenge against the more experienced Senegalese side.
Senegal opened the scoring through Laye Diagne, but Nigeria responded quickly as Abdullahi Hassan found the net to bring the Sand Eagles level.
Mamadou Sylla then took control of the contest for the visitors, completing a hat-trick as Senegal regained their advantage.
Ninou Jean-Paul Diatta and Asane Ba also got on the scoresheet for the reigning African champions as they maintained their grip on the game.
Hassan, however, was Nigeria’s standout performer, scoring all four of the Sand Eagles’ goals during the encounter.
His impressive individual performance earned him the Man of the Match award despite Nigeria ultimately suffering a narrow defeat.
The Sand Eagles will have another opportunity to test themselves against Senegal when both teams meet again at the same venue on Monday morning.
The two-match series is part of Nigeria’s preparations for their CAF Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie against Ghana later this month.
Senegal, meanwhile, are using the fixtures to prepare for the continental tournament, where they will enter as defending champions and hosts.
The second meeting is expected to provide the Sand Eagles with another valuable test as they continue their preparations for the crucial qualifiers against Ghana.