BY Victor Akhidenor
Nigeria U-17 team coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has stated Croatia deserved their 2-1 win in the final group game of the FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile.
The Golden Eaglets missed the opportunity of setting a new record for consecutive victories at the U-17 finals after the loss and their run of seven wins in a row sees them level with Brazil (1997-1999), Mexico (2011) and Switzerland (2009).
Nigeria could also not avenge the 3-2 loss at an invitational tournament in Korea recently.
But despite the loss, Nigeria finished top of Group A with six points with Croatia runners-up on five points.
And Amuneke said his team lost to a better side.
“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 wait to see which third-placed team from Groups C, D or E they will come up against in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, October 28.
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