Ghana U17 Captain Eric Ayiah has urged Africans to support the Les Aigles of Mali who are the only African representatives left at the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup in India.
Coach Jonas Komla and his charges knock Black Starlets out of the competition as they claimed 2-1 win in their quarter-final clash on Saturday. However, Ayiah has urged Africans to rally behind the African champions, saying it was not their intention to lose on Saturday.
“We must all rally behind them in prayer once we are all Africans and I know they can do it,” Ayiah told the Press. “It is not our will to lose to Mali for the third time but it has happened, I cannot really tell what caused the defeat but I can that is how football is.
“It’s very painful that we are out from the tournament because we came here to write a new history, the Malians are too much, they are a very strong team and their strength are above us.”
West Africans side will face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday and will hope to dethrone the Nigerian U17 side as world champion.
Coach Jonas Komla and his charges knock Black Starlets out of the competition as they claimed 2-1 win in their quarter-final clash on Saturday. However, Ayiah has urged Africans to rally behind the African champions, saying it was not their intention to lose on Saturday.
“We must all rally behind them in prayer once we are all Africans and I know they can do it,” Ayiah told the Press. “It is not our will to lose to Mali for the third time but it has happened, I cannot really tell what caused the defeat but I can that is how football is.
“It’s very painful that we are out from the tournament because we came here to write a new history, the Malians are too much, they are a very strong team and their strength are above us.”
West Africans side will face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday and will hope to dethrone the Nigerian U17 side as world champion.
