Uche Agbo: I Have Played Against Croatia's Barca & Real Madrid Stars, Mikel Our Biggest Star

Uche Agbo says he is unfazed by the prospect of facing Barcelona star Ivan Rakitić and Real Madrid's Luka Modrić at the 2018 World Cup as he has come up against the pair while in Spain with Granada.

And the Standard Liege man has warned Croatia not to underrate the Super Eagles at the World Cup, adding that the biggest star on the team is ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

''I played against Rakitić and Modric, fought with them, I learned first hand the kind of players they are, '' says Uche to Croatian website sportske.jutarnji.hr.

''We have a tough group, one of the most difficult at the World Cup, Argentina and Croatia are excellent teams, however, we certainly do not come to Russia just to play, our ambition is to go far.''

Uche added : ''We're a young team, but powerful, talented. We have several players already playing in the big clubs, in the English Premier League, there is also our biggest star Obi Mikel.

''We have confidence, we have qualified without defeat, we are considered legitimate candidates to advance to the second round, these are the minimal ambitions we will have at the World Cup.

''We are coming to Russia to impress the soccer world, to show what kind of football is in Africa and Nigeria. We are hungry for the big results, because we have not been so successful so far.''

Uche Agbo is a teammate of Croatia international striker Duje Čop at Standard Liege.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel