African champions Senegal began their FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Group C campaign with a convincing 4-1 victory over Spain at the Paradise Arena in Victoria, Seychelles, on Friday.
In a challenging pool that also includes Chile and Tahiti, Senegal made a strong statement with a professional and dominant performance. They took the lead early through Sanou Laye Thiaw, and extended their advantage to 2-0 as Al Seyni Ndiaye found the net at the end of the second period.
Sidy Fall further increased their lead to 3-0, but Spain briefly threatened when Antonio Mayor pulled one back. However, Senegal swiftly restored their three-goal cushion, with Mamadou Sylla scoring straight from the kick-off.
The win maintained Senegal’s unbeaten record in competitive encounters with Spain.
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In the other Group C match, debutants Chile triumphed in a thrilling 13-goal clash against the highly favoured Tahiti, winning 7-6. After a 2-2 first period, Chile took a 6-4 lead by the end of the second. Despite a strong comeback from Tahiti in the third period, Chile held on for the win. The match was marked by five yellow cards, three of which were given to Tahiti.
In Group D, defending champions Brazil had to work hard to secure a 3-1 win over El Salvador. The match was tied at 1-1 going into the third period, but goals from Thanger, who scored with a spectacular bicycle kick, and Lucio sealed Brazil’s victory.
Last year’s runners-up, Italy, kicked off their Group D campaign with a thrilling 7-4 win over Oman. The match was level at 2-2 after the first period, but Italy pulled ahead to 4-3 and, with two goals from Josep Junior Gentilin, secured the win.
