2018 World Cup: Only ‘tactics’ will decide Nigeria, Croatia clash – Mikel Obi

Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has stated that Nigeria's Group D
first match against Croatia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be a
game of 'tactics'.


Mikel believes that only tactics will decide which team will come out
victorious when both sides clash on Saturday at the Kaliningrad
Stadium.

The former Chelsea midfielder, however, said the Eagles will make sure
they approach the game with a strategy that will make them have
control throughout the duration of the match.


"Croatia are a fantastic team with fantastic players, but we have good
players too," Mikel told ESPN.

"It's going to be a game of tactics. We have to play our game and make
sure we control the game like we always do.

"It's going to be tough, but we know how we play and how we want to
play, so we are going to have to continue playing that way.


"So we can use the same motivation like we did in the qualifiers."


Mikel added, "Every game counts. We want to start the game on Saturday
in a positive way. If we get a good result, we can build on that and
hopefully qualify from the group."