I won’t make same mistakes against Sweden –Eaglets keeper

 

Golden Eaglets  goalkeeper Dele Alampasu claims he learned  the painful lessons from Nigeria’s 3-3 draw with debutants Sweden in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup  group meeting in Al Ain City, United Arab Emirates, on October 22, promising a clean sheet against the Scandinavians in  Dubai on Tuesday.

Nigeria beat Mexico 2011 runners-up Uruguay  2-0  in Sharjah on Saturday to set   up a semifinal  tie with Sweden, who  defeated Honduras 2-1 in Al Ain City on Friday to reach the stage.

In the  group stage game,  Swede striker Valmir Berisha captalised on Alampasu’s mistakes early in the encounter to  put the Europeans 2-0 up before the Eaglets  came back to level the score.

And the  16-year-old keeper, who has conceded five goals in the tournament, has  vowed  he won’t make the same mistakes on Tuesday.

“I wasn’t myself,” he was quoted by FIFA.com as saying on Sunday.

“I messed up coming off my line for the first goal and that weighed on me afterwards. I was a bit lost after the first goal. Before I could get myself back in the game, I was called on again and everything went wrong.

“I won’t make the same mistakes against Sweden; I’ve learned my lesson.

“This is my first international experience and I’ve drawn a lot of information from that game, especially in terms of the level of concentration you need to have at this level.”

Alampasu insisted his heroes – Chelsea’s Petr Cech and Bayern Munich’s  Manuel Neuer – had  made similar mistakes in their careers.

“I watch them every time they play and I learn a huge amount,” he said.

“I got over it (coming off his line against Sweden in their group stage game) against Iraq,”

Three-time champions Nigeria have  never lost in the semifinal of the competition  and boast a great record against Europeans  since the tournament  began in China in 1985.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi is expected  to arrive in  Dubai on Monday with a message from President Goodluck Jonathan for the team.

According to the Nigeria Football Federation spokesman Ademola Olajire,  Abdullahi will be accompanied by top government officials and company executives.