LAGOS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria coach Yemi Tella and his Germany counterpart, Heiko Herrlich, were locked in a war of words ahead of their FIFA Under-17 World Cup semifinal clash in Suwon on Thursday.
Tella, whose tactical play ensured a 2-0 victory over the battling Argentine team on Sunday, said there was no way Nigeria would be defeated by the Germans.
"From our preparation, we know that Germany maintains a very high level of performance. All the teams in this tournament have been strong, and the Germans have been particularly impressive in terms of teamwork," Tella said.
"However, our side is strong in every respect even if we had a weakness. One thing I'm certain of is that we'll win on Thursday,"he added.
But Herrlich, who led his team to the stage after handing the Lilly-livered English side a 4-1 defeat Sunday, insisted that his boys would not be muscled out of the competition by physical play of the Nigerians.
"Nigeria is a very physical and skillful team. As African Cup winners, they had a tough quality and will be a strong opponent in the semifinals. We, as fifth of the European Championships, are the underdogs, that's obvious. But we did well in the tournament up to now and my players will do everything to make it to the final. It will be a very interesting match," he said.
Nigeria and Germany have met six times at different levels, with Germany holding a small advantage with three wins, one draw and two defeats.
