Claudio Zamudio (#10) celebrates with teammate Eduardo Aguirre after scoring the opening goal in a FIFA U-17 Men's World Cup quarterfinal against Ecuador on November 2, 2015, in Coquimbo, Chile. (Photo: FIFA via Getty Images)

CONCEPCION, Chile – Mexico will hope to expel from memory some parts of the past, when it meets Nigeria on Thursday in the semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup at the Estadio Municipal Ester Roa.

The sides – sporting very different rosters – met in the final of the same competition two years ago, with the African power earning a 3-0 victory in the United Arab Emirates.

Similar to 2013, Nigeria is filling the net on a remarkably frequent basis. While crafting a 4W-0D-1L record in Chile, the Golden Eaglets have struck for 17 goals, netting three or more on three occasions. They beat Australia (6-0) and Brazil (3-0) by a combined 9-0 score in their last two outings.

Admittedly, Mexico head coach Mario Arteaga is anticipating an arduous – but not impossible – challenge.

“We expect a difficult match because of the opponent we are facing, for the football that they have developed, for the goals that they have scored,” said the 44-year-old, who played for Mexico in the 1992 Olympic Games. “It will be a very pleasant meeting because the Mexican team also knows how dangerous the speed of their players is, but if there is something we do well it is closing spaces and recovering the ball as fast as possible.

“I think it will be a hard fought game, where at least we’ll play with a lot of intelligence to obtain a final result that favors us.”

Arteaga certainly has the evidence to support that claim. After all, Mexico has reached the last two U-17 World Cup finals, lifting the trophy in 2011 with a 2-0 win over Uruguay, before following it up the next decider with the loss to Nigeria.

In Chile, the CONCACAF champion is 4W-1D-0L, conceding one goal or fewer in each outing. It triumphed 2-0 over Ecuador in the quarterfinals thanks to goals by Claudio Zamudio (41’) and Bryan Salazar (55’ pen).

A battle between Nigeria’s offense and the Mexican defense promises to be fascinating.

“We know that Nigeria is a great team, but we are ready” said Mexico midfielder Pablo Lopez. “We are going to go toe-to-toe with them and we will secure the result that will allow us to reach the final. 

“We know how to play very well on the ground and it is going to be a very close game. It is going to be a very good match-up where two teams are going to try and the best one is going to win.”