Iheanacho wants Mexican scalp again

Football | Fifa U17 World Cup

Iheanacho © backpagepics

 

Kelechi Iheanacho has been one of the most impressive performers of the Nigeria team at the ongoing Fifa U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
He has been hugely instrumental in the Golden Eaglets’ smooth passage to the final of the competition. His skills, vision, maturity, authority, assists and goals have been highly invaluable to Manu Garba’s side.
Iheanacho knows however that his contributions could come to naught if he fails to inspire the teammates scale the final hurdle in the shape of defending champions, Mexico on Friday.
Nigeria has met Mexico once already in the tournament and the Africans won 6-1 with Iheanacho helping himself to four goals.
The 17-year-old however knows things could be very different at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday when the teams meet for a second time.


“I’m sure they (Mexicans) won’t feel great about that first result. They’ll want to put pressure on us and we’ll have to be careful. We’ll respect them, but it’s hard to go against us when we’re playing our good football,” Iheanacho told fifa.com.
In 2001, a Nigerian team boasting of talents like Joseph Eyimofe, Femi Opabunmi, Bassey Akpan, Temile Omonigho and Sambo Soga beat France 2-1 in their opening game of the competition.
The Golden Eaglets came up against the French in the final and got outclassed 3-0. Iheanacho and his mates are cautious of a backlash and will not take the Mexicans for granted having won so comprehensively a few weeks ago.
“We’ve got better since that opener. We’ve become closer and we’re going to chase them all over the field; we’re going to press them with our attackers and we won’t rest. We’ll go at them for 90 minutes until we’re sure the trophy is ours,” he said.
Nigerian fans in the UAE have made their presence felt in all games played by the Nigerians as they travel in hordes and cheer every kick of Golden Eaglets.

“They give us courage. “But you can’t play for the gallery, you have to play for your team-mates. But they do give us confidence and they cheer us up so that we can play in the right way,” Iheanacho said. After his barn storming performance in the opening game against Mexico, it was widely believed that Iheanacho would be the man to provide the goals for Nigeria.
Such feelings were highlighted even more after Nigeria’s top scorer at the African U17 championships, Success Issac got injured in the first game.
Four games later, Iheanacho has scored just once but has been at the hub of most of the team’s best moves.
He provided the assist, an intelligently weighted through ball, for the crucial opening goal dispatched by Taiwo Awoniyi in the semi final against a well-drilled Sweden side.
Iheanacho however believes he possesses traits of a goal scorer and an assists provider.
“I’m both but it’s not important to call yourself one or the other. If I’m in a good position to score then I’m happy to put the ball in the back of the net, but if I’m not, and I see someone in a better position, I’ll give it to him. It doesn’t matter in our team who scores the goals, who finishes top scorer or top player. It’s a collective effort.
“We have to work as a team, play as a team. This is how you win matches,” he said.