WE’LL BEAT MALI IF…

Super Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi is positive that the team can make it through to the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations if they reproduce their quarter-final form against Cote d'Ivoire as they face Mali in the semi-final.

Nigeria produced arguably the best performance of the tournament when they outplayed and outclassed favourites Cote d'Ivoire on the way to a 2-1 win on Sunday in Rustenburg.

They face Mali next and Chelsea star Mikel is hoping for a repeat.

"Cote d'Ivoire was a very tough game but we played very well and won," he said. "Now we have the semi-final to play first and we have to face each game one at a time. "Hopefully if we manage to play well like we did against the Ivorians and we manage to go through we'll be very pleased."

Mikel has been pivotal to the Eagles' success, guiding the largely inexperienced midfield against some of Africa's most talented players.
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