John Obi Mikel will be playing international football this summer, as the midfielder has been named to Nigeria’s Olympic squad, according to All Nigeria Soccer.
This will be the Chelsea midfielder’s first ever appearance in the Summer Olympics, which will be held in Rio, Brazil.
There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the player selection by U-23 coach Samson Siasia, as he left out Watford striker Odion Ighalo.
The 26-year-old has been scoring goals aplenty for Watford, as he has recorded 14 goals in 33 league games this season.
Mikel was named the captain of the Super Eagles back on 24th March after Siasia, who also coaches the Nigerian national team, said he wanted the longest-tenured player to serve as the nation’s captain.
Siasia recently stated Mikel’s desire to play for the Dream Team VI in this summer’s Rio Olympics, saying:
I guess that because Mikel missed out the last time, he wants to make up for it.
Not only that, the last couple of games he has played for the Super Eagles, he has been playing very well, and if he wants to be part of the team, of course he is welcome, but as I said we have to look at the positions we really, really need people.
The summer Olympics are typically reserved for Under-23 players, though the rules allow teams to add three over-age players. This year’s Nigerian squad’s over-age players will be Mikel, Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moskow) and Efe Ambrose (Celtic).
Ambrose was a part of the 1996 Nigerian team that won the gold medal at the Atlanta (USA) Olympic Games.
The Dream Team VI has been drawn into Group B, alongside Colombia, Japan, and Sweden, and will have its first match on 4th August against Japan.
