Mirabelli and his girls will look to end their group-stage campaign on a positive note when they face Poland in their final fixture on Friday night.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Puerto Rico U-17 women’s head coach, Andres Mirabelli, has attributed their 2-0 defeat to Nigeria at the ongoing 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Rabat on Tuesday night to their slow start.
He made this known after the encounter on Tuesday night while expressing disappointment with his team’s performance.
Puerto Rico suffered their second consecutive loss in the tournament after opening their campaign with a 6-0 defeat to defending champions, DPR Korea.
Goals from Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Precious Oscar secured victory for Nigeria’s Flamingos in a keenly contested Group B encounter.
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Speaking after the match, Mirabelli admitted that the North American side’s slow start proved costly.
He further lamented that their inability to cope with the pressure and quality of their opponents also contributed to the defeat.
‘I’m not happy with how we played in the first half. Once again, we wasted time just like in the last match. It’s a shame because the pressure of the World Cup and the difference in level are hurting us,’ he told FIFA.com.
With the latest defeat, Puerto Rico are at the bottom of Group B with no points from their opening two matches, having conceded eight goals without scoring.
