Chelsea FC’s John Obi Mikel Believes Pressure Is On Nigeria After Winning African Cup Of Nations

Chelsea FC’s John Obi Mikel believes that the pressure is mounting on Nigeria after the Super Eagles won the 2013 African Cup of Nations. The midfielder is preparing for his first World Cup after missing the 2010 World Cup in South Africa due to injury. The Super Eagles have an excellent chance of progressing to the next round if they are able to get their campaign off to a good start by beating Iran later today.

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John Obi Mikel and Nigeria will then face Bosnia-Herzegovina who fought hard against Argentina but could not overcome the class of Lionel Messi. If Nigeria are able to win their first two games before playing Argentina then they may be all but assured of a place in the round of 16.

John Obi Mikel on the pressure Nigeria is facing:

"“This is my first World Cup. I want to make sure we achieve something coming here. We don’t just want to come and make up the numbers, we want to do well.I have to make sure I lead by example. We are all driving in the same direction. We all know what we want and hopefully we will have a good tournament.We know we’re the African champions and people expect us to do well, to represent the African continent. That’s a bit more extra pressure but it’s pressure that we love. We love to be African champions. We’re doing well, we’re doing everything we can, we’re preparing well. The result with Spain against the Netherlands shows anything is possible, so we have to make sure we approach games seriously and play well.”Source: ChelseaFC.com"

Obi Mikel is joined in the Nigeria squad by two other Chelsea players in Victor Moses and Kenneth Omeruo. Both Omeruo and Moses were on loan last season but can use the World Cup as a platform to impress their club bosses. The Super Eagles are in an enviable position in a relatively easy group but they will only go as far as John Obi Mikel and his Chelsea teammates can take them.

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