Last 16 exit for GB team

GREAT Britain’s bid for glory at the Amputee Football World Cup tournament in Mexico ended in disappointment.

Under the guidance of Royton-based head coach Pete Wild — a double Great Manchester Sports Award winner and Oldham Athletic youth team and academy coach — the GB team exited at the last 16 stage thanks to a 1-0 defeat against Turkey.

After taking in a training camp in Cancun, Wild’s 11-strong playing squad made their way down to Culican for the tournament, where they were joined by Angola and Ghana in Group ‘F’.

Great Britain got off to a terrific start as they saw off Angola 3-1, after which they were due to face Ghana the following day.

Visa issues meant the Ghanaians never actually arrived in Mexico to play the game so GB topped the group having been handed the victory.

That paired them with Turkey in the first knock-out stage, but a single-goal defeat ended GB’s hopes.

Wild’s team did end their trip on something of a high, however.

They arranged fixtures against Italy and El Salvador in a bid to build up some ranking points, winning both matches, 7-0 and 4-1 respectively.

Ahead of the long journey home, Wild tweeted: “Huge thanks to everyone that helped us to get to the World Cup.

“It’s been a great journey, things didn’t quite go our way, but that’s football.”

Russia beat Angola 3-1 in the final.