The Croatian U-17 national team have appeared at the FIFA World youth championships twice. Their debut came at Trinidad and Tobago 2001; a competition with which the Young Blues of France in a revenge mission, defeated the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria 3 – 0 to lift the trophy.
Croatian U-17 team at the UEFA championships
Croatia went home early in that tournament after losing to Brazil and Australia. The team also went home so early at the last competition with defeats to Morocco and Uzbekistan and a solitary win over Panama ensuring their first round exit.
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However, the new set of players were very outstanding on their road to qualifying for this year’s to tournament to be hosted by Chile. The eastern at the continental championships (UEFA) Europeans conceded their only goal of the tournament in the quarter-finals against Belgium, where they eventually lost on penalties.
The team ensured they defeated Italy in the play-offs to seal a place at Chile. They will play their second group match against Nigeria on October 23.
Nigerian U-17 coach, Emmanuel Amunike said his team will ensure get prepare well for the competition. “We would be working specifically with our opponents in mind. We would step up our preparations for the World Cup.
“We are going through the process and when the time comes, we hope to be ready. Preparation is the key for us and we would keep working hard.”
Emmanuel Amunike, Nigerian U-17 coach
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“We don’t want to box our minds that we are going to play the host team, rather we want to work well and be ready to have good results against all our group opponents. Playing against Chile, USA and Croatia is not going to be easy but the most important thing is for us to keep working hard and prepare well.”
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Road To Chile: Croatia Plot Nigeria’s Downfall
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