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John Obi Mikel Gives His Assessment On England's Chances In The World Cup

John Obi Mikel Gives His Assessment On England's Chances In The World Cup

John Obi Mikel has paid the Thre Lions a huge compliment.

Jacque Talbot

Jacque Talbot

John Obi Mikel has payed England a massive compliment after the side's 2-1 win over Nigeria.

The Three Lions played host to Nigeria at Wembley Stadium. Gary Cahill brilliantly headed the home side in front and Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane doubled their lead with a deflected shot just outside the box.

Nigeria pulled one back through Arsenal attacker Alex Iwobi, but were unable to get any more goals, the game finishing a win for Gareth Southgate's men.

It was a convincing display by the Three Lions, but it didn't blow anyone away. Former Middlesbrough manager Southgate has instilled a recognisable tactical identity in England with the use of full-backs, which is something encouraging to take to Russia for this summer's World Cup.

And Nigeria Mikel Obi, the Nigeria captain, is a big fan of England's chances in the competition, having been impressed with the squad in the match at Wembley.

He said after the match via TalkSport: "I think they have a very good chance of going all the way because the youthfulness and energy in this team... you can feel it.

"I think the pace in the team, you can feel it, and that is why we had some problems in the first half.

"In the second half we corrected some mistakes and played a lot better. I think the England team have a good chance."

It's great to see someone have so much optimism when it comes to England's chances at the World Cup- we know we don't - but not everyone agreed with the midfielders' assessment, taking to social media to call out the player's post-game comments.

Despite this, Southgate was encouraged by the performance of his men. He said via FourFourTwo:

"I think we played really well with the ball especially, created a lot of good chances, far more good situations than we've had in recent games."

"We were deservedly a couple of goals to the good at half-time. In the period leading up to their goal they changed their system and it took us a little while to figure out how to deal with that.

"What that did mean is that there was a little lift in the game that we had to cope with and manage, and that was a decent exercise for us to adjust to that."

Do you fancy England's chances? Let us know in the comments section.

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Topics: Football News, Football, England, World Cup