Fresh from representing Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mikel made himself available for the dead rubber 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania on Saturday, September 3.

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After the game which the Super Eagles won by a lone goal, Mikel said he is looking ahead to the qualifiers.

“I know how important the [qualifiers] are in our bid to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia; that was the reason why I came for the Tanzania encounter which is a good preparation for the clash against Zambia,” the midfielder told Goal.

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“We all must do our part. We should not continue to dwell on the past to move forward. We must put our house in order if we are to play in Russia.”

Nigeria are in group B of the 2018 World Cup qualifying series with Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia.