Spain admits Canadian players' defense was good at U-17 World Cup

Posted On: February 2, 2024

MerahWhite.com – The Spanish U-17 national team had to work hard to achieve a 2-0 victory over Canada U-17 in the first match of Group B of the 2023 U-17 World Cup at Manahan Stadium on Friday evening (10/ 11).

Barcelona star Marc Guiu scored a goal and an assist that led Spain U-17 to a 2-0 victory. The Spanish U-17 national team only took the lead in the 21st minute thanks to Guiu's goal. The dominance of the team nicknamed La Rojita became even more intense after Canada played with 10 players as Alessandro Biello received a red card in the 38th minute.

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After playing in a dominant manner throughout the match, José Lana's team was only able to increase their lead in the 76th minute, thanks to Quim Junyent who managed to score a goal after completing the assist of Guiu.

Responding to Spain U-17's victory, Lana admitted that her team struggled to dismantle Canada U-17's defense despite having superior player numbers.

“Canada's defense was very strong in this match. They are very strong and have great intensity. It is very difficult to score against a team like that. However, I am still happy with the result of this match ” said Jose Lana after the match. match.

The 48-year-old tactician was rather satisfied with his team's performance because they carried out the instructions well. He particularly praised the performance of Marc Guiu, who successfully scored a goal and an assist.

“Yes, they played according to the instructions we gave them. I am very happy with their performance. Yes, in my opinion, Marc Guiu is a very good player,” he said.

For his part, Marc Guiu was happy to be able to help his team win the three points. For him, the main challenge of this match is to dismantle the Canadian defense which is playing very solidly.

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Obviously, Marc Guiu and his colleagues had around nine shots on target, but only two of them resulted in goals. This also cannot be separated from the brilliant actions of Canadian goalkeeper Abraham Nathaniel.

“In a competition like the 2023 U-17 World Cup, all matches will be very close. Canada also played very well defensively. However, the players worked hard to win the three points,” said Marc Guiu.

Meanwhile, Canada's U-17 national team coach Andrew Olivieri said his team failed to shake off the pressure. As a result, throughout the match they were forced to play in their own defense zone.

“I think the players clearly understand what they have to do against Spain. We were stuck in the zone in the first quarter. Unfortunately, we had to spend a large part of this match there,” he said. Andrew said.

Olivieri praised the efforts of all his players in this match. However, he added, Canada will have to face a strong team like Spain. The situation became more complicated because they had to fight with 10 players.

“In defense, the players also showed discipline and willpower. Besides that, our goalkeeper also has good goalkeeping skills. I appreciate all the players who fought today,” he said. he concluded. (Ismail/Central Java)