Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has expressed his disappointment with the way Nigeria lost 0-2 to Croatia in their opening World Cup 2018 group D game on Saturday.
Speaking on Russian TV station RT, the coach who predicted that Nigeria will advance ahead of Croatia before the start of the World Cup faulted the decision of coach Gernot Rohr to play John Obi Mikel as the number ten of the Nigerian team during the game.
Mourinho coached Mikel in two different spells at Chelsea and according to him, the Tianjin Teda man is at his best if played from a deep role as he will be able to dictate the pace of the game unlike when he is played up the pitch where the tempo is higher.
” I was sad and disappointed the way they (Nigeria) lost. I looked at the composition of the team. On paper they have some good players . Croatia now look better placed to qualify from this group”, Mourinho said negating his pre tournament prediction where he said Nigeria will qualify.
He went further by saying Mikel should have played as the defensive midfielder of the team and not as the playmaker ” Mikel is not a No 10, he is a No 6″, the coach who signed Mikel to Chelsea where he spent ten and half seasons said.
Ade Emmanuel
