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Musa closing in on Enyeama & Yobo on Nigeria's all-time appearance chart
The jet-heeled Super Eagles forward is just two matches short of equaling the country's record for most appearances
Ahmed Musa is fast closing in on a Nigeria national team record achieved by Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama.
Musa earned his 99th international cap having featured in Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Peter Butler’s Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
With the three-time African kings winning 2-0 thanks to a Kelechi Iheanacho brace, he was introduced for the Leicester City man in the 84th minute.
The Kano Pillars legend went into the game on 98 caps, eight more than former Chelsea and Stoke City star John Obi Mikel, who quit international football after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt.
Now, he is two matches short of Yobo and Enyeama’s mark and the ex-Leicester City and CSKA Moscow man, who has 15 international goals to his credit, could match their feat should he feature in the country’s next two features against Cape Verde and Central African Republic.
The Fatih Karagumruk forward had surpassed Mikel as the third most-capped Super Eagles player having featured in an international friendly against Algeria on October 9, 2020.
Musa shot into international limelight after helping Nigeria U23 win the 2010 Wafu Nations Cup where he scored goals against Benin Republic and Burkina Faso.
His performance saw him invited to the senior national team prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, although he did not make the 30-man squad due to an ankle injury.
At the 2011 Fifa U20 World Cup in Colombia, the former Kano Pillars man scored three goals in five matches and he was included by Fifa’s shortlist for the Adidas Golden Ball.
After representing the country at youth level, the speedy forward made his senior debut on August 5, 2010, in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification versus Madagascar – coming in as a substitute for Mikel in the 2-0 win.
He scored his first goal for the Super Eagles in an international friendly against Kenya in March 2011.
The three-time Russian Premier League winner has gone on to feature for Nigeria at two Afcon championships as well as two Fifa World Cups.
Also, he is the country’s leading goalscorer in the global football showpiece with four goals to his name, all coming against Argentina.
