Chilean arrowhead and two-goal hero in Sunday’s 7-goal cliffhanger of a quarter-final clash at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, Angelo Henriquez, is full of praise for conquerors Ghana’s Black Satellites.
The Ghanaians battled their Chilean counterparts for over two hours and twice had to come from behind before plucking victory via a not too powerful Ebenezer Assifuah header that miraculously managed to go through two defenders standing just in front of the goal line at the Ali Semi Yen Stadium.
Not until with only 15 odd seconds left of extra time when Ghana nipped that decider was it clear that the die was cast. It gave the South Americans no chance whatsoever for a comeback, for sure they would have fought on. They had displayed that attitude throughout the encounter.
Angelo Henriquez is quoted by FIFA.com http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/news/newsid=2133427/index.html?intcmp=newsreader_news_picture as saying “It was such a tough game and both teams really played incredibly well. But only one of us could win and, in the end, I think they were maybe just a little bit stronger than us.”
Henriquez emphasized: “We have to congratulate them for keeping going until the very end. We have a strong team too but physically they are really powerful, and they never stop running. And of course, their final goal, coming when it did, gave us no chance at all to come back.”
But such was the throbbing nature of the clash that it could easily pass as the tournament’s best yet.
And the skillful Henriquez, pained though that he and his mates must make an early exit, believes there is a lot they must take from that defeat. “I actually think this was our best performance here at the World Cup; the boys were incredible out there. But football isn’t always fair and unfortunately one good team had to go out tonight,” he told FIFA.com.
The Manchester United player hopes for a bright future for Chilean football, saying “I think you have seen here that there is also a lot of young talent in Chile too, and hopefully we can play our part in the future. I definitely hope we’ll be back at more World Cups to represent our country, and I think a lot of the players in there have the ability to do that.”
Coach Mario Salas was of a similar opinion, commending the talent and spirit of his young side who gave their all in search of reaching the last four, saying “I am certain that this group of players will be the foundation of Chilean football for years to come.”
By Isaac Yeboah/Graphic.com.gh/Ghana
(With additional reporting by FIFA.com)
