Seychelles, Mauritania suffer defeats At FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup

African representation at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Seychelles 2025™️ took a disappointing turn on Saturday, as both host nation Seychelles and fellow Group A participants Mauritania fell to defeats in their respective fixtures at The Paradise Arena in Victoria.

In the earlier match, Seychelles put up a spirited fight but were narrowly edged 4-3 by Guatemala in front of their home crowd. Despite goals from Terrence Amade, Remy De Ketelaere and Brandon Labrosse, the islanders could not contain Guatemalan star Miguel Gonzalez, who bagged all four goals for his side in a clinical display.

Seychelles started brightly with three goals inside the first eight minutes of play, but defensive lapses allowed Gonzalez to strike in all three periods, including a dramatic winner with less than a minute remaining in the final period. It was a heartbreaking loss for the hosts, who showed clear improvement but remain winless in the competition.

Later in the day, Mauritania also faced a steep challenge and were outclassed 8-4 by Portugal. Cheikh Belkheir and Hamdy Salem gave the West Africans some hope with goals in the second and third periods, while Ahmedou Bilal scored inside the first minute of the opening period. However, the European giants dominated proceedings, with Andre Lourenco netting twice and further contributions from Bernardo Lopes, Miguel Pintado, Leo Martins, Jordan, Tim, and Pedro Mano.

In Saturday's other matches, Belarus claimed an impressive 6-3 victory over Japan, while Iran cruised to a 5-1 win against Paraguay.