Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel does not want Croatia to rest their key players in Tuesday’s final Group D match with Iceland after they sealed their spot in the next round with a comprehensive win over Argentina.
Nigeria can qualify for the last sixteen if they beat Argentina or if the game ends in a draw and Iceland fail to beat Croatia.
Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic confirmed that he will rest players against Iceland and there is talk that ten changes will be made to the starting lineup that faced Argentina.
”I don’t think it’s the best thing to do. This is a massive tournament – you can’t rest people and give others a chance of qualification,” Mikel told reporters after the Super Eagles win against Iceland.
“They should be professional and play their best team. This is such a big stage that you can’t rest players just to help other teams to qualify.”
The former Chelsea star has revealed that he will undergo a scan on Saturday to determine the extent of a wrist injury he suffered in the closing minutes of yesterday’s match with Iceland.
”You can see that my wrist is injured and had to be bandaged. I will do scan today to know the extent of the injury.
”You can also see that the wrist is swollen but hopefully I should be ready for the Argentina match.
”The match will be very tough but we have to be ready and hope that all our best legs are available and injury free.
”We will work very hard in training and on the pitch to get victory against Argentina on Tuesday,” Mikel was quoted as saying by SportingLife.ng.
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