Mexico U17 national goalkeeper, , had a bad day when he faced the Mali national team in the round of 16 of the 2023 U17 World Cup. Because, he had to collect the ball from his own net five times, which also ended Mexico’s journey in the world level U17 tournament.
The match happened at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, East Java, Tuesday (21/11/2023) evening local time.This is the worst defeat he has ever experienced while playing for the Mexican U17 national team. Nevertheless, the goalkeeper who brought Mexico to the 2023 CONCACAF U17 championship showed extraordinary magnanimity. He accepted the defeat gracefully, without complaint.
He considered this defeat as part of the process that made him become even better. “That’s something you have to live with as a goalkeeper. Sometimes you don’t expect to concede five goals. However, keep working and learn from this together,” said Paolo Bedolla.
Apart from that, he ensured that this bitter experience would not stop his dream of having a career in football. He said that appearing in the 2023 U17 World Cup was part of a dream that he had achieved, even though it ended not according to his expectations. However, this experience made him feel even more motivated to improve himself so that he could immediately reach the highest level.
“I like to make a change in the world. My mission is to play in Europe,” said the player whose full name is Norberto Paolo Bedolla Muñozledo. Not only did he concede five goals, he also became the center of attention because he appeared wearing a face shield since the group phase, indicating that he was suffering from an injury. He revealed that he had a cheekbone fracture.
The injury was suffered during a friendly match before the 2023 U17 World Cup. However, with his confidence, he is very ready to guard the Mexican U17 national team. “About two weeks before the World Cup, I competed in a friendly match in Argentina. I suffered a knee injury and a fracture on the inside of my cheek. Of this bone, there were four fractures,” he said.
Paolo Bedolla also said that he was faced with the choice to undergo surgery to speed up injury recovery. However, he made up his mind to defend the team nicknamed El Tri in the 2023 U17 World Cup even though he was not in his best condition.
“Finally I chose to play using this protective mask,” he said. In the end, he gained the confidence to appear as the main goalkeeper from the preliminary round for Group F of the 2023 U17 World Cup which took place at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, West Java, until the round of 16 at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium in Surabaya, East Java.
