Niger coach Ismaila Tiemoko expects a rough and tough encounter but rejects the underdogs tag as his team comes up against Ghana at the U-17 World Cup on Wednesday.
The game kicks off at 1130 GMT at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.
The two sides are quite familiar with each other having already met thrice this year. Ghana hosted the Mena Cadets in two straight test games in Accra in April before facing off again in the semifinal of the U-17 Afcon in Gabon.
Tiemoko does not agree with the suggestion that everyone expects Ghana to win against the tournament debutants and enter the quarters.
“I don’t think everyone has said Ghana will win. We have nothing to lose,” he said, adding “It will be rough and tough.
“But I also expect fair play and lots of good performances. It’s going to be a close match, that’s for sure. It’s going to be an open match.”
“We played two friendlies against Ghana before African Nations Cup and lost both of them 0-2. We learnt from them and when we met them in the tournament, we held them 0-0 and then lost on penalties (5-6). We are hoping for a victory,” the Niger coach stated.
He is also of the opinion that the mental aspect would play a huge role in the game.
“It’s about mentality (of players), more than physical or tactical. We are going to fight till we have the energy. Our goal now is to reach the final. No team is here to lose. We have good hopes for the match,” Ismaila Tiemoko noted.
The winner of the Ghana-Niger encounter faces either Iraq or Mali in the quarterfinals.
Source: Footy-Ghana.com
