“Mexico will look to revenge 6-1 defeat!” – Manu Garba
Manu Garba, the Coach of the Golden Eaglets, has admitted that he knows Mexico will be a tough team to beat despite an earlier 6-1 loss to the Eaglets.
The Eaglets who are hoping to win the U-17 World cup title a record fourth time after previous wins in 1985, 1993 and 2007 will play Mexico in the finals today by 5pm, Nigerian time at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Mexico are the defending champions of the title and despite a 6-1 loss to d eaglets in the Round of 16, they have succeeded in going all the way into the finals after beating Argentina 3-0 in the Semi-finals.
The Golden Eaglets have been very impressive in the tournament, without losing any game and scoring 23 goals, the highest by any team in the tournament.
Despite their success however, Marba has said he knows the final match would not be a one-way traffic for Nigeria since the Mexicans would be looking to revenge their 6-1 defeat.
“Mexico would be looking for revenge but we are going to win this match because we want to set the record as the best team in the world at this level, We respect Mexico for what they have been able to do at this World Cup but our prayer is that God will crown our efforts tomorrow.”
Manu, who was an assistant Coach when Nigeria last won the trophy in 2007 also said,“Of course, I have won this trophy before but winning it on Friday by beating Mexico would be the best moment of my coaching career.”
So far,under the current coaching team, the Eaglets have played a total of 48 matches; won 43, drew 4 and only lost once. They have scored a total of 218 goals and conceded just 53.
The match will be officiated by Scottish referee, Craig Thomson, Derek Rose and Alan Mulvanny. The fourth official is Nobert Hauata from Tahiti, while Mark Rule of New Zealand would be the Reserve Assistant Referee.