By Albert Akota
Ahead of today’s friendly between Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo, Super Eagles captain Obi Mikel has said that himself and teammates are supremely motivated to battle any opposition hands down.
“We do not expect the Congolese to be easy opposition. They have a strong team made up of very talented players and we know this is one good opposition for us to confront before going to the World Cup,’’ Mikel said.
“The FIFA World Cup is no picnic. We have to arrive in Russia with a winning mentality and you get that feeling of being ready only after beating strong teams.”
Nigeria’s Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr has thrown in his own motivational factor by telling his ‘soldiers’ that five players would be cut from the provisional list of 30 after today’s encounter, leaving him with only two more to dispense with when announcing the final squad in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria on Monday next week.
This declaration, plus Obi’s assertion of the need for winning mentality, will propel the Eagles to give their all on Monday, against a squad that nearly grabbed a World Cup ticket for itself.
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