Russia 2018: No more first half slumber ―Mikel

As Nigeria gear up for their opening game of the 2018 World Cup against Croatia on Saturday, captain John Mikel Obi has promised that the team will be switched on from the start – unlike in their warm-up games.

Two miserable first half performances against England and Czech Republic largely contributed to losses to both teams that stirring second half fightbacks failed to overcome.

But Mikel says the Super Eagles will not repeat the mistakes going forward: “I don’t think we want to start from the second half. We want to start well in the first half. From the word go, we want to be there, in every tackle, winning every ball, controlling the play like we always do.

“This is how we play. We don’t want to wait until the second half. This is something we have spoken about and I’m sure we can do better in the first half of games. We hope and we believe we can start well in this tournament.”