Nigeria captain Mikel slams Croatia decision to rest star players
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The Super Eagles could find themselves relying on the Group D leaders - who plan to leave big names out against Iceland - to reach the knockout stages
Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel has called on Croatia to be professional and not rest players against Iceland in a match that could yet decide the Super Eagles' World Cup fate.
Two goals from Ahmed Musa ensured Nigeria remain in the hunt for a place in the knockout stages as they saw off Iceland in Volgograd.
Gernot Rohr's side now know that a victory over Argentina in Saint Petersburg will be enough for them to reach the last 16 for the fourth time in their history.
And though a defeat to the Albiceleste would confirm their elimination, a draw would mean they require Croatia to do them a favour against Iceland.
Croatia have already booked their place in the latter stages of the competition, and as such manager Zlatko Dalic has vowed to leave out some of his star players in a bid to conserve their fitness.
Mikel, though, does not understand the reasoning behind Dalic's decision and feels it is unfair on the rest of the teams in the group.
"I don't think it's the best thing to do," he told Goal. "This is a massive tournament - you can't rest people and give others a chance of qualification.
"They should be professional and play their best team. This is such a big stage that you can't rest players just to help other teams to qualify."
Nigeria have faced Argentina four times in their previous five World Cup appearances, losing on all four occasions, but the form of the South American outfit has raised hopes that the Super Eagles can end that run.
Despite counting Lionel Messi among their number, Jorge Sampaoli's side have picked up just one point from their two games thus far, including an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Croatia on Thursday.
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However, Mikel is aware that recording the victory his side require will be no easy task.
"I think they have played well. It's going to be a tough and difficult game for us."
Both Nigeria's clash with Argentina and Iceland's match with Croatia take place simultaneously at 7:00pm BST (2:00pm ET) on Tuesday June 26.
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Obi Mikel, 31, now plays his football in China for Tianjin TEDA, but made almost 250 appearances for the Blues over 11 seasons between 2006-2017. He will lead out the Super Eagles for a crucial World Cup Group D clash with Iceland, with Nigeria needing the win after an opening defeat to Croatia. Defeat would leave Nigeria facing an early trip home, with Argentina still to come. Obi Mikel is married to Russian beauty Olga Diyachenko, and the couple have two children.
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Olga was trolled after sharing a picture of the family in Russia after Nigeria's opening World Cup defeat to Croatia. Posting a selfie, Olga said: "You win some, you lose some my love... You are always a winner in my eyes. Love you <3 Go Nigeria". But one fan hit back, accusing Olga of keeping John too busy having sex to be able to train. "He should be demoted," the fan said.
“We are focused. We are ready. We want to win” John Obi Mikel Nigeria take on Iceland at 4pm today. Last year, Olga revealed how the pair met. Speaking to Nigerian media, she said: "Mikel used to be my parent's neighbour. "As my parents were leaving the flat, I dropped off the keys at his flat and that was how we met and started off as friends and then grew into lovers.
"It was never a magical love story." Olga gave birth to twin girls in 2015. Obi Mikel has urged his team to come back stronger after the setback against Croatia. This afternoon he tweeted a picture of him in Nigeria's favourite kit, writing simply: "Ready".
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The central midfielder told reporters his team had done everything to prepare for the Iceland tie. "We are focused. We are ready. We want to win," he said. "We know we need a victory against Iceland to stay in the tournament and we are doing everything in training to make that happen." Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson said yesterday the game would be difficult.
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Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel said the team is focused on getting a good result when they face Iceland this afternoon.
The Eagles failed to impress in their opening day game against Croatia and now they need to show more aggression, and making good the chances that come their way.
“We are focused. We are ready. We want to win,” Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel told reporters.
“We know that we need a victory against Iceland to stay in the tournament and we are doing everything in training to make that happen.”
Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson said on Thursday that he expected his side’s second World Cup match against Nigeria to be tough.
“We expect a tough match. We are ready for it. It will be a totally different game [from that with Argentina]. You have to work together, you have to stick together and once you do it as a team anything is possible, you’ve got a chance,” Gunnarsson said.
He said team work is what has kept Iceland going.
“Whenever everyone is rowing in the same direction, anything is possible in football and we have to stick together. We know it’s another tough task for us.”
