Kolkata: Mario Ortega, coach of Mexican U-17 national team is confident about his team’s chances in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup starting Friday.
The two-time champions arrived here Wednesday evening and had their first training session at SAI complex here Thursday ahead of their first match against Asian Champions Iraq, October 8.
Talking to the media, Thursday the 46-year-old coach expressed confidence about the potential of his team going into this mega event. “It’s going to be a tough tournament. The conditions here are totally different, but we are flexible in any weather. We are looking forward to facing the challenge and putting up a good show,” Ortega said.
The Mexican coach also asserted that his side won’t be resting on past laurels. “Whatever has happened is history,” stated Ortega. “We are here to create new history.”
This will be Ortega’s second successive U-17 World Cup with the side. He stated that he will take it one match at a time and not rush things around. “We have come to win the title. I believe in my boys and am pretty confident of overcoming the challenges as they come. At the moment we are solely concentrating on our first game against Iraq,” he stated.
However, Ortega informed that he doesn’t want to underestimate the other teams in the group. “People are talking about Chile and England but let me tell you Iraq are also a very tough team. They can be the dark horse of the group,” Ortega asserted.
The Mexican team will be mainly banking on striker Daniel Lopez and midfielder Ian Jairo Torres who put up an excellent show in the recently concluded CONCACAF U-17 championship earlier this year.
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