Didier Drogba: Everybody Knows How Good Mikel Is

In an interview with the official website of Fifa ahead of Sunday's quarter-final with Nigeria, Ivory Coast skipper Didier Drogba has admitted that it will be a difficult match against one of the traditional teams on the continent.

''Against Nigeria, it will be a tough game, against a team that also intends to go far in this tournament. The Super Eagles are a very strong team, very physical. Stephen Keshi has been doing good work, but I hope that Côte d’Ivoire will win and go through, but it will not be easy,'' says Drogba to fifa.com.

Didider Drogba is relishing the confrontation against former Chelsea teammate John Obi Mikel,one of the important players in the Nigeria squad.

''It is going to be hard and tough, everybody knows how good [Mikel] is, and what he did with Chelsea in the Champions League final - he was one of our best players in that game. But now I will play against him. We are going to laugh before the game, then it will be tough during the match, but then laugh again after the game because we are good friends. He is my brother,'' he said.