Babalola Oluwatomiwa
Social Member
Head coach of the Nigeria U17 team, Emmanuel Amuneke, has admitted that he lost to a better Croatian side on Saturday morning.
Croatia handed the defending champions the first defeat in the ongoing FIFA U17 world cup in Chile after winning their games against USA and host country, Chile.
Nigeria, despite losing 2-1 to Croatia, who have beaten the Emmanuel Amunike boys twice this year finished top of Group A with six points from three matches with Croatia runners-up on five points for both teams to automatically progress to the next stage.
Amuneke said his team have to play more as a team going forward.
"My players wanted to win, but we were not the best tonight. The Croats have asked us many problems. They prevented us from playing our game and deserved to win,” he said.
“My players are very talented, but still have room for improvement collectively."
Nigeria will now face the third best losers in Groups C, D and E in the Round of 16. AfricanFootball
Croatia handed the defending champions the first defeat in the ongoing FIFA U17 world cup in Chile after winning their games against USA and host country, Chile.
Nigeria, despite losing 2-1 to Croatia, who have beaten the Emmanuel Amunike boys twice this year finished top of Group A with six points from three matches with Croatia runners-up on five points for both teams to automatically progress to the next stage.
Amuneke said his team have to play more as a team going forward.
"My players wanted to win, but we were not the best tonight. The Croats have asked us many problems. They prevented us from playing our game and deserved to win,” he said.
“My players are very talented, but still have room for improvement collectively."
Nigeria will now face the third best losers in Groups C, D and E in the Round of 16. AfricanFootball
