Nigeria begins World Cup campaign aginst resurgent Croatia

Nigeria launch their World Cup campaign on Saturday with a match against a Croatia side seeking to reassert itself as one of the dominant forces in international football, writes Paul Myers in Kaliningrad.

ohn Obi Mikel (R) of Nigeria celebrates his goal scored against Denmark during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games men’s quarter-final football match Nigeria vs Denmark, at the Arena Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador, Brazil on August 13, 2016. NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP

Twenty years ago in France, Croatia, appearing in their first World Cup following the break-up of Yugoslavia, dazzled.

They were only seen off in the semi-finals thanks to a brace from France’s Lillian Thuram.

Nigeria had a similar breakthrough moment during the 1994 World Cup when they advanced to the last 16 and were only undone in the closing stages of the game against Italy.

The heirs of those teams take to the field at the Kaliningrad Stadium with different expectations. Nigeria have an eye on the future with only four of the 23 man squad aged over 30. “I don’t think it’s a problem for us,” said Nigeria skipper John Obi Mikel.

“Of course, it might be. But in this tournament you have to take each game as it comes. Sometimes experience counts. Sometimes youthfulness counts. Young players are full of energy and have things to prove because they haven’t been at this level before. So in a way, I think the youthfulness will help us.”

Mikel, 31, featured at the World Cups in South Africa and Brazil and with 85 appearances for the national team, is the most experienced player in the ranks. Ahmed Musa, with 72 caps is not far behind. But the 25-year-old’s 13 goals makes him the most potent of the Nigeria strikers.

“We are the lowest ranked team in the group,” said Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr. “That’s why we stay humble and modest. But we are ambitious. We want to come out of this group which means that we have to get something out of the game.”