Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has confirmed that Africa Cup of Nations going on Egypt will be his last tournament for Nigeria as he wants to give the young ones a chance.<\/p>\n
Mikel who made his debut in 2006 confirmed this ahead of Nigeria\u2019s quarterfinal game against South Africa in Cairo international stadium.<\/p>\n
The former Chelsea star told BBC he will be retiring from international football after the tournament and hopes to go out on a victorious note. \u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing ride for me in the national team,\u201d Mikel told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThirteen years I think is enough. I\u2019ve won trophies, I\u2019ve had a lot of amazing time. I think it\u2019s time for these young guys to carry on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m mostly here in Egypt to support the young guys and make sure they\u2019re on the right track. \u201cI think my presence is always important for them, hopefully, I can finish with the trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old midfielder has 89 caps to his name and has won the Nations Cup already in 2013. He has appeared in two world cups for Nigeria (2014 and 2018).<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, he will love to retire with a second AFCON title. The Super Eagles are still on course to win their fourth AFCON title and they will continue that quest when they take on South Africa in Wednesday\u2019s quarterfinal.<\/p>\n
Mikel who missed the round of 16 victory over Cameroon due to injury hopes to play a part in the game against the Bafana Bafana.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m fit, I\u2019d love to play in the quarterfinal, but no need to rush,\u201d he added. \u201cHopefully if we can make it to the semi-finals I\u2019ll probably be ready then and help the team if I\u2019m needed.<\/p>\n
He also added that winning the AFCON title in South Africa was the highest point of his career and will love to help the current generation achieve their dreams by winning it once again.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously winning the Nations Cup in South Africa was the high point, that\u2019s why I want to help this young team to hopefully achieve their dreams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are able to win it here, I\u2019ll be proud and they\u2019ll be proud, then they can carry on from here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has confirmed that Africa Cup of Nations going on Egypt will be his last tournament for Nigeria as he wants to give the young ones a chance. Mikel who made his debut in 2006 confirmed this ahead of Nigeria\u2019s quarterfinal game against South Africa in Cairo international stadium. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":1925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[468,116,122,348],"class_list":["post-12534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-afcon","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-tournament"],"yoast_head":"\n