FIFA U-17 World Cup: India deserved victory vs Colombia, says Mexico’s Gutierrez

Mexico coach Mario Arteaga said India should be proud of the way their team performed against Colombia in the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Monday. Sitting next to him, Alexis Gutierrez said Luis Norton de Matos’ team deserved full points.

“Yesterday, they deserved a victory but unfortunately, they made two mistakes and Colombia took full points. But I had seen them in Mexico (last August) and was not surprised by their fighting spirit,” said the midfielder here on Tuesday.

Arteaga too spoke about the Torneo de 4 Naciones Tournament in Mexico City where India played along with the hosts, Chile and Colombia. India had lost 0-3 to Colombia, 1-5 to the hosts and drew 1-1 with Chile.

READ | Jeakson Singh scores but Colombia beat India 2-1 in FIFA U-17 World Cup

“We had a chance to see India a couple of months ago and we were really surprised about the big level of the Indian team. Their performance so far has been an even bigger surprise. I understand there is the pressure of being the home team,” he said.

“What we saw yesterday is they had a great match. They had a good performance, made history (by scoring a goal) and fought really well. They lost against a team that has a longer and better history in football but after such a great match, Indians must be proud of their team,” said Arteaga.