The national beach football team, the “Guerreiros da Praia”, will face Senegal, the current African champions, along with Uganda and Ghana in Group A of the 2026 Africa Nations Championship (CAN) to be held in Senegal. The draw took place in Cairo, Egypt, with the tournament scheduled from 28 November to 6 December.
The draw has placed Mozambique in a challenging group, particularly with Senegal as both the host nation and a dominant force in the sport across the continent. Senegal has secured victories in the last five editions of the CAN, held in 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024, making them the most formidable opponent in the group.
Historically, Mozambique has faced each of these teams. In their last two encounters with Senegal, the “Guerreiros da Praia” were defeated, losing 2-3 in the 2022 Beach CAN held in Vilankulo, and previously in the final of the 2021 tournament in Dakar, where they fell 1-4.
Against Uganda, Mozambique holds a favourable record. The two teams clashed in the semi-finals of the 2021 CAN, with Mozambique triumphing 6-3, which secured their place in the final.
The most recent meeting with Ghana took place during the 2024 CAN, where Ghana emerged victorious with a score of 5-3 in the fifth-place play-off. Now, under the guidance of coach Saidate Moveia, the team faces the difficult task of overcoming the hosts and reversing their unfavourable record against Ghana in their pursuit of a semi-final berth.
Group B consists of Mauritania, Morocco, Malawi, and Angola, rounding out the eight teams competing in this year’s edition.
In the initial phase, teams will compete in a round-robin format within their groups over three matchdays. The top two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals, with the first-placed team from Group A facing the second-placed team from Group B, and vice versa. The winners will advance to the final, while the losing teams will battle it out for third place.
