Coach of the young Eagles of Mali insists they will take the positives out of their defeat to Paraguay and move on in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
The African Champions lost their opener to the South Americans 3-2, after Alan Rodriguez scored a second half penalty to secure all three points for Paraguay.
Paraguay scored twice in 5 minutes in the first half through Galeano and Sanchez before Hadji Drame and Ndiaye pulled parity for the Africans but they could not hold on to the end of the game.
Coach Jonas Komlan says he is not worried by the poor start but indicated there is a lot of room for improvement.
"It was not a perfect start from us. There is plenty of room for improvement but happy with the strong mentality of my players. In my opinion, over-enthusiasm from the players cost us today and we will look to work on that aspect in the next two games," he said in a post-match interview.
“We started on a similar path in the AFCON but went on to win the competition. There was pressure on us back then and it is the same pressure today. We will take it positively and try to win our remaining games."
Asked whether the climate played a part in their defeat, Coach Komlan said the weather conditions were similar to that which they played the AJC so that is no reason for their defeat.
“The defeat has nothing to do with the weather. Tonight's conditions were similar to the climate back home. We made a lot of mistakes which is why we are on the losing side."
Mali will next play Turkey, who were held by New Zealand.
By Lukman Evergreen Mumin