I’m Not Playing Badly - Sunday Mba

[Folami David]

Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba has spoken up against criticism that has come his way following his first two games for Nigeria at the 2013 Fifa Confederations Cup in Brazil.
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Mba played for 55 minutes in Nigeria's opening game of the tournament against Tahiti and was dropped to the bench for Thursday's game against Uruguay.
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He was eventually thrown into the fray after 66 minutes against the South Americans but several critics have been up in arms labelling the midfielder's performances in both games as underwhelming.
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Mba has now exclusively revealed to supersport.com that he does not feel his performances have been "that bad" while promising to go for the kill against world champions in Fortaleza on Sunday night.
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"I have been hurt by the amount of criticisms that have come my way. I don't think my displays have been that bad in the two games I played but then, that's football," Mba said.
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The 25-year-old however acknowledged that he may have become a victim of his own success following a barn–storming Afcon debut in South Africa earlier in the year; a tournament where he scored winners against pre-tournament favourites, Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals and Burkina Faso in the final.
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"What I feel is that after my performances at the Nations Cup, most of the fans now expect me to score in every game and that is not possible.
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"It's hard for me because even when I am playing normally, people think I am playing badly because they expect something spectacular whenever I touch the ball," he said.
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Nigeria have never lost when Sunday Mba scored and the Enugu Rangers man is hoping the omens are good at the Estadio Castelao.
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"I am not a superstitious person. People say I always score on Sundays and we will play against Spain on Sunday.
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"Let's see if I get picked by the coach. As always, I will give one hundred and ten percent.
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"If I score, great but the most important thing is to help Nigeria win against the best team in the world and qualify for the semifinals," he concluded.

[Folami David]