Mikel Obi Urges Younger Eagles Teammates To Control Their Emotions Ahead Of Croatia Clash

Super Eagles captain has stressed the importance of controlling one’s emotions to his younger teammates.

The former Chelsea midfielder was speaking with reporters at the Kaliningrad region’s new white-and-blue stadium on Friday ahead of the Eagles’ opening Group D clash with Croatia.

In his words, Mikel Obi said: “It’s going to be very interesting because they like to keep the ball and so do we.”

“We have a younger team so that might help us come the end of the game.” He added.

With an average age of just 25 years and 337 days, Nigeria have the youngest squad at the tournament in Russia and this prompted Mikel to advise his teammates as several stars prepare to make their World Cup bow against Croatia on Saturday.

He said: “The players are full of energy and have a lot to prove because they’ve not played on this stage before,” he told reporters.

“Not a lot of players were here for the last World Cup but I think that might be a good thing. It’s important for them to control their emotions so we have to keep that in check as well.” He concluded.