SuperSand Eagles will on Thursday return to the world stage when they file out against Italy in one of the opening games at the Beach Soccer World Cup in Bahamas.
The Nigerian side, which will be challenging Iran, Italy and Mexico for a place in Group B of the tournament, missed the last edition of the tournament after losing to Senegal in the semi finals in Seychelles.
SuperSand Eagles’ skipper, Isiaka Olawale, however believes the Nigerian side will qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.
“All the teams we will be facing are very, very good teams,” Olawale said. “However, and I say that with the utmost of respect to our opponents, we don’t have to overestimate anybody.
“We will take each match as it comes. But we will try our very best. We have to be at our best if we want to make it through to the next round. We have faced some of the teams before and we know that any team that has qualified for the World Cup deserves to be there.”
Bahamas 2017 will be the fourth time that Olawale competes in the showpiece event of beach soccer, having been in the Nigerian team at the 2007 finals in Brazil, the 2009 edition in the United Arab Emirates and the last time the Super Sand Eagles made it through in 2011, when Italy hosted the tournament.
On the other hand, Italy have yet to lift the trophy, their proven ability to go deep into the tournament makes them a force to be reckoned with, especially with the free-scoring Gabriele Gori leading their attack.
The tie is slated to kick off at 3:30pm at the National Beach Soccer Arena on Thursday.
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