Mikel talks England friendly: Why we didn’t play well in first half

In the aftermath of the Super Eagles’ 1-2 loss to England, captain John Mikel Obi has analysed his team’s performance.

Mikel said the team was lacklustre in the first half, partly attributing it to the defensive formation of the English side.

He said the Eagles “played five at the back as well” in the second half, hence, the improved performance.

“In the first half we didn’t well but in the second half we did better and we knew we could play like that,” Mikel said in a post-match video interview with Soccer Nation.

“So, we have to continue to play like this. We pressed in a lot, we keep the ball in play like we did and if we play like that in the World Cup we know we can do better.

“If you play with a team with five at the back, you will always have an extra mile, it’s always difficult.

“In the second half we played five at the back as well that’s what we did and we played much better, we created chances and we scored a goal.

“We know we have to and we have to keep playing this way.

“We need to be together, we need to be the strongest team. We don’t want to be strong in one department and weak in another.

“This is why we are here, we were strong together as a team during the qualifiers, we want to play as a team, win together as a team, lose together as a team.

“We need time to always play together as a team, train together and now we have to go to Austria to focus in training to correct our mistakes.”

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