Mexico's dream run at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup ended with a nightmare result against a familiar opponent.
El Tri's hopes of a repeat were dashed on Friday, as Nigeria picked up a convincing 3-0 victory over the Mexicans in the FIFA U-17 World Cup final at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Nigeria, who routed Mexico 6-1 in their Group F opener, now have a record four U-17 championships.
A ninth-minute own-goal from Erick Aguirre set the tone for Mexico's demoralizing defeat and left El Tri facing an uphill battle they never got close to overcoming. Nigeria doubled their lead in the 55th minute through a Kelechi Iheanacho tally and stuck a dagger in El Tri with an 81st-minute goal from Musa Muhammed, effectively erasing any doubt about what the game's final result would be.
For Mexico, the loss is a bitter end to a tournament that saw them impressively knock off Brazil, Argentina and Italy in the knockout rounds.
Mexico's senior national team will be hoping to avoid the same type of heartbreak next week. El Tri face New Zealand in a two-legged playoff with a 2014 World Cup berth on the line.
