Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has tasked the team to make sure to be ready for the big boys at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Mikel, in a chat with FL, emphasized that it would not matter if the Super Eagles played the big boys early or not as they would eventually play them at a stage during the tournament and must make sure to be ready to fight.

“We have to make sure we beat the big boys,” the former Midfielder said. “To win these kind of trophies you have to make sure you’re ready to play against the big boys.”

“Senegal, Egypt, the Ivory Coast, and the Moroccans, so we have to make sure that we’re ready for these big games.

“We’ll eventually face them at some point during the tournament, so we have to make sure we’re ready for that.”

The former Nigerian star won the title himself in 2013, and was part of the draw ceremony and process where Nigeria was pitted in group A alongside hosts Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

The Super Eagles will kick off their AFCON campaign against Equatorial Guinea on the 14th of January at 3pm Nigerian time.