Nigeria continue impressing at Olympics with second consecutive win

The Nigerian U23 football team's Olympic journey got off to an acrimonious start, with plenty of confusion and controversy about their delayed journey from their Atlanta-based training camp to Brazil itself, but since arriving in the country, they've done nothing but impress.

Their first game, a wild 5-4 win over Japan was a mish-mash of haphazard defending, individual skill, and great finishing.  The second one, a 1-0 win over Sweden Sunday afternoon, may not have made as much of an impact on the scoreboard, but on the pitch, it was a much more promising performance.  Nigeria could've and should've scored a fair few more — Andreas Linde, goalkeeper for Molde, remember the name — but they managed to get away with the narrowest of margins thanks to an organized and solid defense.  Amazing what a couple days of sleep and proper preparation can do!

Mikel, as usual, wearing the #10 shirt and the captain's armband, played in the no.10-role, but was substituted off with about 10 minutes to go.  He came very close to scoring just prior, with well-taken free kick.  In a rather ironic move, coach Siasia brought on a left back in an ostensibly defensive substitution.  Not something you see every day with The Human Final Whistle.

He got a warm applause from the stadium, which is also not something you see every day.

GIF: John Mikel Obi with the turn of life pic.twitter.com/TdMFobNyaM

— Wolé II (@Kingwole) August 7, 2016

With two wins from two, Nigeria's "Dream Team VI" have ensured a place in the quarterfinals.  They have one more group match remaining, against Colombia on Wednesday.

Heading to the 1/4 finals! One step closer to Gold ☝ #Rio2016 #SuperEagles #DreamTeamVI pic.twitter.com/xt7wVr82VU

— Mikel John Obi (@mikel_john_obi) August 8, 2016