Port Said, Egypt (PANA) - Nigeria's rising soccer star John Mikel Obi has thanked Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen for giving him a chance Friday to guide Nigeria to a 2-0 win over Zimbabwe in his first game with the Super Eagles at the ongoing Africa Nations Cup (CAN).

Nigeria had struggled for almost 60 minutes in its second group match against Zimbabwe until the coach introduced 18-year-old Obi and Nwankwo Kanu in the second-half.

Obi, who is at the centre of a transfer row between two British Premiership sides Manchester United and Arsenal turned the tempo of the game round and broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when he floated a threatening corner-kick which Christian Obodo nodded home for Nigeria's first goal.

Three minutes later, Obi sealed victory for the Eagles with a powerful shot from about 20 metres, which wrong-footed the Zimbabwean goal keeper Gift Muzadzi.

"I thank the coach for having given me the chance. "To score a goal makes me very happy but the most important thing is the victory of the team," he enthused after the match.

Eguavoen, too, expressed satisfaction with his team's "overall performance."

"It was a tough game against Zimbabwe and I expect another tough match against Senegal. But I have a team that is focused and capable of beating any team. We will work harder and with some luck we will achieve our targets here," he added.

For his part, Zimbabwean coach Charles Mhlauri has blamed his team's loss on defensive error in the second-half.

"We lost concentration in the defence in the second half. But against Ghana we will not lie down, we will take the game very seriously so as to take something back home," he added.

Nigeria, which beat Ghana 1-0 in the first match, and is as good as through to the quarter-finals battle Senegal, while Ghana take on Zimbabwe in their last group games to determine the two teams that will advance from Group D.