Emma Okocha, the elder brother of Nigeria legend, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, has sent a clear message to Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, that captain John Obi Mikel, still remains relevant to the national team.
Okocha stated this ahead of Nigeria’s international friendly match against Egypt at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Tuesday.
Mikel Obi is yet to play for Nigeria since the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but Okocha believes that the former Chelsea star is currently the only creative midfielder in the Super Eagles.
Okocha, however, compared Mikel Obi with current Ballon d’Or holder, Luka Modric, whom he faced at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
“Look at how he performed against one of the best midfielders the game has seen at the last World Cup, he stood his ground against Luka Modric and co. and it was just unfortunate he didn’t get enough quality support from his fellow midfield players for us to come away with a better result against Croatia; against Argentina, he did very well too,” Okocha was quoted by AllAfrica as saying.
“At present, we do not have many creative players in the team’s midfield and that is sad. Take a look at our midfield in that game without him. Versus Seychelles, most of them were just there.”
Comments