The journey of Africa’s best and top-ranked club to win the 2023 World Winners Cup came to an abrupt end after an 8-1 loss to Bahia de Marazzon of Spain in the Round of 16 of the tournament in Alghero, Italy, on Friday.
The two-time Nigeria champions had lost their first two games to Copenhagen BSC of Denmark (4-2) and ASD Napoli of Italy (7-4) before picking a slot in the Round of 16 with a comfortable 15-1 win over BS Vion of Slovakia.
The Spanish side raced to a 7-0 lead into the third period.
Andri Sanchez opened the scoring for Marazzon in the first period.
Five more goals from Suli Batis, Chiky Ardil, Bernardo, Jose Oliver, and Pablo Lopez increased the Spanish side’s lead to six in the second period.
Chiky Ardil’s second goal of the match in the third period made it 7-0 before Nazarov reduced the deficit for Kebbi BSC.
Canovos made it 8-1 with seconds to the end of the match.
The Round of 16 qualification is the best performance of the Birnin-Kebbi-based team.
The club is the only African team at the 2023 World Winners Cup and the Round of 16 qualification is expected to help them move up the ranking after the competition.
