Chinedu Obasi Interview

On Saturday your focus will be on your World Cup opener against Argentina. Is the first match at the World Cup especially important?

Yes. The aim of the first game is to shake of the cobwebs and the nervousness, not lose and put yourselves in a good position for the rest of the group stage. Losing the first match puts the team under pressure making the second group game more important. We want to avoid that situation and start our World Cup campaign positively.

In the form of Lars Lagerbäck, Nigeria have a very experienced manager. Does it provide an advantage?

I believe having a European manager is a big advantage for our team. He can take us further tactically and knows a lot about European football. I trust in his ability and hope that he can help the team takes its next step forward. We have the quality to produce good performances during the World Cup and do well.

With John Obi Mikel injured, Nigeria have lost an important player. How much does the loss of such a key player weigh on the team?

John Obi Mikel is one of our most important players. His injury will weigh heavily on the team. The responsibility will have to be shared amongst the team. We still have one of the best Nigerian players of all time in our ranks in the form of Kanu. His experience can help us enormously.

And how will Nigeria do in this World Cup?

At any World Cup it is important to thin game by game. Right now we have to give everything we can to survive the group stage before we can set goals about the latter stages of the tournament. Surviving the group stages would provide us with a big motivation boost for the players and would mean a lot to our country.