MIKEL RATED BEST EAGLE

Mikel Obi has been rated the best Super Eagles player at the on-going FIFA Confederations Cup inBrazil.

Nigeria crashed out of the tournament at the group stage Sunday night after losing 3-0 to reigning World and European champions,Spain at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza but FIFA,through its castrol index picked the Chelsea of England midfielder as the 20th best player after the completion of the group stage games and the best Nigerian player at the tournament The Castrol Index uses the latest FIFA tracking technology to capture data on each player, which will then be analysed by a team of Castrol Performance Analysts. Every pass, tackle and move on the field is measured and assessed to see if it has a positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal. The team of Castrol Performance Analysts crunch all the data to award each player a Castrol Index score out of 10 - the stronger the player's performance, the higher their score.

Mikel was awarded 8.45,the highest by any Super Eagles players at the tournament.He is also the only Nigerian player who made the top 20 list.

He was followed by defender,Godfrey Oboabona who was listed the 21st best with vastly improved defender, Uwua Echiejile is rated the third best Nigerian player and 31st best in the competition after the conclusion of the group sage matches.

Defender,Lucky Omeruo (34) and striker,Nnmadi Oduamadu (36) who hit a hat-trick in the 601 rout of Tahiti completed the list of Eagles players in the top 50. Meanwhile Mikel has said Nigeria exited the tournament because the strikers were wasteful in front of goal.

Speaking after the team’s 3-0 loss to Spain in its last group game, Mikel stated that the chances
created by the team were too numerous but were simply not converted.

“We came out to defeat the Spain and I think we even had a better possession against the world
champions, but we simply did not take our chances and they took theirs, so we paid dearly for our mistakes and are now out of the competition," lashed out a disappointed Mikel.

Mikel also described Spain as a fantastic side but had it been Nigeria strikers were potent enough, it would have been a different result.

The former Lyn of Oslo,Norway star, who played the last two games with a slight fever, promised
Nigeria will be back in Brazil next year from where the world will see the best of the reigning
African champions.

The Nigeria midfield general has also picked Roger Federer as his idol.

'He's someone I've looked up to since I first started watching the sport. What a great professional
he is. He's still breaking record after record and even when people seem to doubt him, he keeps
winning trophies.

'He's still up there as one of the best and he's the greatest player to ever play tennis. He's my
idol and I look up to him I just love watching him play. I've never had the chance to meet him but
I'm trying to do that when he is in London this year, either at Wimbledon or the ATP Finals at the
O2.'

Federer is currently number three in the ATP world rankings and has won 17 grand slam titles over thecourse of a glittering career. In the eyes of many, he is regarded as the best tennis player of all time.

The Swiss star won Wimbledon last year, when he defeated Andy Murray in the final, and he will be trying for an eighth victory in the tournament beginning today in the capital.

Federer has appeared in 24 grand slam finals, more than any other player in history, and he is the only man to reach the semi-final stage of 23 consecutive grand slam tournaments.