Told players to stay calm, trust themselves while taking penalties, says Colombia coach

Margao: Had they taken their chances, Colombia could have won their semifinal battle against Nigeria inside 90 minutes. They had 15 shots, eight of them on target. They missed, the rival keeper saved, and at least once, the goalpost stood in-between.
So a place in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup was to be decided by penalties.
Colombia knew they had a mountain to climb.
Nigeria, after all, had knocked mighty United States in the quarterfinal on penalties and were confident of a repeat in the semifinal.
Colombia coach Paniagua Carlos sensed the tension. He got the team together at the end of 90 minutes and before the start of the shootout. He had something to say.
“I first congratulated the players because they played a great game and were superior to Nigeria, which is a great rival,” Paniagua told TOI at the mixed zone on Wednesday. “I congratulated the players for playing a great game. As far as penalties are concerned, I told them it’s just one pass into the net.”
His final words, “stay calm and trust in yourself.”
Even when Colombia were on the verge of exit as Munoz Yesica missed and Nigeria converted their first four penalties, they did not lose faith.
“I knew it was my responsibility to save,” said goalkeeper Agudelo Luisa who guessed the fifth penalty correctly and then saved the seventh one to give Colombia a historic place in the final. “This is not an individual effort from me. It is the entire team that worked together. I am really proud to be part of this team and make history.”
Colombia won 6-5 in sudden death tiebreaker to become the first team at any level to make it to the final of a World Cup.
Coach Paniagua was delighted but would have been happier if the match was settled inside 90 minutes.
“We practiced penalties, but our objective all through was to win the game in 90 minutes. We did not want to leave anything to chance (in tiebreaker). But we could not win (in regulation time), so the way we trained helped (create history).
“This is the first time in history that Colombia national team at any level has made it to the final. This is huge. I am indebted to the players, staff and the football federation. The trust has been immense,” said Paniagua.
Given a choice, the Colombia coach said, they would have loved to stay in Goa, a “paradise” that gave them good vibes all through. But they now move to Navi Mumbai where they face defending champions Spain in the final on October 30.