Mikel eyes Nigeria World Cup lift

Nigeria set off for the FIFA World Cup in a bullish mood with midfielder John Obi Mikel confident of qualification from Group F.

In one of the less eye-catching groups, Argentina are heavy favourites with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria expected to be locked in a battle for second.

Mikel, though, insists the African side have little to fear against any of their opponents.

“We’re going to approach the Iran and Bosnia game in the same way,” he said. “Even when we play Argentina we’ll approach it the same.

“It doesn’t matter who we face. We want to get out of the group stages and see what happens.”

Mikel believes the youth among Nigeria’s ranks will be key as they aim to make a splash on the biggest stage.

“I think the guys are a bit more hungry,” he said. “There are a lot of young players in the team and they’re all hungry.

“I think that’s the mentality we have. Hopefully we’ll have a good tournament.”