Mikel wins MOTM award in Tianjin Teda win

Mikel wins MOTM award in Tianjin Teda win

— 30th September 2017

•  Arrives tomorrow for Zambia

• Explains why Super Eagles deserve to qualify

Captain of the Super Eagles John Obi Mikel will arrive Nigeria tomorrow ahead of their October 7th World Cup 2018 qualifiers clash against Zambia in Uyo.

Mikel was voted the Man of The Match (MOTM) for his Chinese side Tianjin Teda in their 3-1 win over Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng, which helped them move out of the basement of the League table in the Chinese Super League.

Although he didn’t get on the score sheet, he was very lively and set up the third goal which helped his team kill off the tie after Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng have pulled a goal back.

His performance in the game lead to many fans of the club attributing their poor season to his absence after injury ruled him out for three months, few games into the start of the Chinese season.

The Chinese league won’t have weekend games, this is so done to allow players called up by their national team to honour the call, and travel on time due to the miles involve in travelling from China.

Meanwhile, Mikel feels that the Super Eagles deserve to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals next month.

The former Chelsea FC central midfielder was speaking to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) official website.

“I must admit that I applaud the resurgence of the Zambians this late in the qualifiers. Beating Algeria home and away is no mean feat,” he said.

“We will take them very serious on 7th October because they clearly have a new spirit. It is time we wrap this up,” he continued.

“We have all shown professionalism, dedication and determination to be at the pole position in a group tagged ‘Group of Death’.

“Commendations must go to the entire team and the Coach, but we must finish it up in Uyo and secure our ticket right there.”