LUBANGO, ANGOLA - JANUARY 20: John Obi Mikel of Nigeria in action during the African Nations Cup Group C match between Nigeria and Mozambique, at the Alto da Chela Stadium on January 20, 2010 in Lubango, Angola. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
If fielded, Mikel Obi will be making his 90th appearance for the Super Eagles. If his pre-tournament comment is anything to go by, the match will also symbolically marks his last international appearance.
It is not clear, if he will be fielded having been excluded from the matches since the 2-0 loss to Madagascar.
He was reported to have been injured. Sports Village Square gathered from Cairo that Coach Gernot Rohr might not put him in the starting line up in the third-place classification match with Tunisia.
“No sentiment about whether he is playing his last match in AFCON or last game for the national team. All I know is that we have an official match tomorrow (Wednesday) and many Nigerians who are yet to recover from Sunday’s match will be looking forward to a consolatory win, hence no room for any experiment.
“Mikel Obi still remains the captain of the team and we must remember that he was in the starting line up in two matches before he got injured and two days ago he overcame his knee injury meaning that he is not fully fit to play the match at hand.
“Many people including the media questioned his inclusion on the final 23-man list when I had to drop some players he were part of the qualifying series. That is life for you and I have no regrets in the selection and we have to move on,” remarked Rohr at the pre match conference on Tuesday afternoon.
