Uzbekistani referee to handle tie
By Olalekan Okusan
FOR the third time in 14 years, Nigeria will today at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, try to reaffirm its superiority over Spain in the FIFA U-17 World Cup when both sides clash in the second semi-final of this year's championship.
At two previous meetings, the Eaglets prevailed, the last time being the 2007 edition in South Korea, where the late Yemi Tella's boys triumphed 3-0 on penalties after a barren draw. The maiden pairing of both teams was at the 1995 edition in Ecuador, where the Eaglets prevailed 2-1.
Being one of Europe's finest sides at the U-17 level, Spain boasts no fewer than eight European titles (1986, 1988, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2007 and 2008) as the continental record. But this has not translated to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, where it has finished runner-up at Italy 1991, Finland 2003 and Korea 2007, as well as placed third at Egypt 1997 - all under the watchful eye of Juan Santiesteban, who stepped down after two decades following victory at the UEFA U-17 European Championship in Turkey 2008.
But despite being armed with all these victories in the U-17 European Championship, Spain's attempts at winning the European title three times in a row were thwarted in Germany in May this year. Now, with the disappointment in Germany still fresh in coach Gines Melendez's memory, winning this year's World Cup will indeed be paramount in his mind.
For today's match against the John Obuh-led side, Melendez, who was part of the technical team under Juan Santiesteban when Spain lost to the Eaglets in 2007, will see this as an avenue to avenge the narrow loss via penalties. With Spain netting 16 goals while Nigeria has 14 so far in this competition, both sides will be aiming to outshoot each other in today's semi-final clash.
Being the only team yet to utilise all its 21 players at the championship, Nigeria will want to give the new players an opportunity to exhibit their skills in front of their own people.
Coach Melendez had earlier admitted that he would have preferred to meet Nigeria in the final, but he must face the battle against the defending champions.
Spain will rely on key players like Edgar Badia (goalkeeper), Jorge Resurreccion "Koke" (captain), Borja Gonzalez (forward) and Pablo Sarabia (forward).
The team will miss the service of Marc Muniesa (defender), who was sent off during the quarter-final match against Uruguay. The only player to have been booked in the Nigerian squad is Stanley Okoro.
Meanwhile, FIFA has named Uzbekistan's Ravshan Irmatov as centre referee for the match. According to FIFA Communications and Public Affairs Commission, Irmatov, compatriot Rafael Ilyason and Kyrgyzstan's Bahadyr Kochkarov will assist the 34-year-old school football instructor. The fourth official is Carlos Amarilla.
For the Switzerland/Columbia clash, New Zealand's Michael Hester is centre referee and his two assistants are compatriot Jan-Hendrik Hintz and Tonga's Tvita Makasini, with Mali's Koman Coulibaly the fourth official.
