John Obi Mikel has said that the Nigerian team will be able to make its way into the final 8 of the ongoing African Cup of Nations.
Nigeria is yet to win a match in the ongoing competition so far. The first couple of its preliminary matches have ended in the form of draws. The Nigerian team will take on Ethiopia in its final group match tomorrow. The Super eagles need to win that match to qualify for the quarter finals.
Talking to the reporters ahead of the match against Ethiopia, Mikel said, “We haven’t played up to our abilities in the tournament so far, but, tomorrow, we will have to make sure that we get three points and move into the quarterfinals. Hopefully, we will play our best tomorrow and will secure a win.”
When asked about the performance of the team in the last match against Zambia, Mikel said, “We played some really good football in the last match. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get three points, but, our performance was not bad at all.”
“We created more opportunities than Zambia in that match, but, we couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities.”
“Some of our key players are slowly getting back to top form and it’s a good sign for us. If we play up to the potential that we have got, we can beat any team in this competition.”
In its first match against Burkina Faso, Nigeria was ahead by 1-0 till the 90th minute of the match. But, in the injury time, Alain Traore scored a goal for Burkina Faso and Nigeria had to share points. Similarly, in its second match against Zambia, Nigeria was again leading by 1-0 till the 85th minute. But, it was a penalty goal by Kennedy Mweene which levelled the scores and prevented Nigeria from winning the match.