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Nigeria captain John Mikel Obi.
World Cup-bound Nigeria are "more than happy with being written off," says captain John Mikel Obi.
The Super Eagles have been paired with Argentina for the fifth time in six World Cup appearances in Group D of the tournament in Russia.
They will also face tough European pair, Croatia and Iceland in the group.
Ranked (47th) below all three Group D opponents in the Fifa world rankings, the West Africans have been tipped to struggle, a tag the team relishes.
"Honestly, people didn't expect us to qualify but we are off to Russia and now it's all about the rankings," the former Chelsea midfielder told BBC Sport."When you look at the group I'd say we are more than happy for people to write us off and very happy to be the underdogs.
Two-time world champions Argentina have beaten Nigeria four times at the World Cup, with the Super Eagles losing by the odd goal in each of the matches.
The South Americans edged Nigeria 2-1 in 1994, 1-0 in 2002 and 2010, as well as the thrilling 3-2 result at the last World Cup tournament in Brazil.
But the three-time African champions are not short on confidence going into next month's tournament after defeating Argentina 4-2 in a friendly in Krasnodar last November and beating Poland away in March.
Africa's most populous nation will start their campaign in Russia against Croatia on 16 June, then face Iceland on 22 June before finishing with Argentina four days later.
Nigeria reached the round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014 but were knocked out of the 2002 and 2010 tournaments in the group stages.
Courtesy of the BBC
