FIFA U-17 W’CUP: We Will Be Mentally Ready For Mexico – Amuneke
Golden Eaglets head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke said his team cannot afford to lose to Mexico in their semifinal clash at the on-going Chile 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which is to be played at the Estadio Municipal in Concepcion on Thursday.
The 44-year old also said the Golden Eaglets will avoid what was called the ‘Chile Debacle’ by a section of the Nigerian media, where a star-studded U-20 squad of 1987 were humiliated following a 4-0 loss to Brazil at the Chile 1987 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The 1994 African player of the year insisted that he is not bothered about the failure of the U-20 team at Chile 28 years ago, maintaining that the Golden Eaglets must be at their best against the Mexicans.
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Amuneke said, “We can’t afford to lose (at the same venue) to Mexico and this is an important game for us.
“Sincerely, I can’t remember anything about Chile ‘87 and I don’t want to be bothered about that.
“The Mexicans are a very good side and their performance so far at Chile 2015 is an indication that they have a very solid structure back home.
“But we are working to ensure that the players are mentally ready for this big match.”
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Nigeria and Mexico have met thrice at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the Golden eaglets winning two of the three encounters, the latest was a 3-0 win at the 2013 final.
