Ahmed Musa has played down the threat of Mohamed Salah, ahead of the heavyweight clash between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Egypt at this month’s AFCON.
Both African giants will open their campaign in Group D when they clash on January 11.
One player who would be giving Nigerian fans sleepless nights is Liverpool star Salah.
The 29-year-old leads the Premier League top scorers chart after netting 16 goals in 20 games.
He has scored 23 goals in 29 games in all competitions for the Reds this season and is regarded as one of the best player in the world on current form.
Also Read: Eguavoen Defends Non-Inclusion Of More Local Players In AFCON Squad
But speaking in Tuesday’s press conference on NFF TV, Musa stated that the Eagles will not lose sleep over the threat Salah would pose.
“Everyone is talking about Salah but if you look at our team we have lots of players they will be worried about.
“So we don’t have to think about Salah, they have to think about our own players. They talk about Salah but we have players like Samuel Chukwueze and others on the wings who are very dangerous so that’s football.“
On the possibility of the current Eagles squad securing a fourth AFCON title for Nigeria, Musa posited it can be achieved.
“Definitely. In each tournament you will always see new players. I don’t think there is any new player going to the AFCON that has not been with us since day one,” Musa said. “So we are together and we know each other but it’s just something little the coach just need to add into the team.
“For me I think we are ready because we have played lots of matches together and like I said we are 100 per cent ready. We are not going to Cameroon to see the beauty of the country but to win. I remember during the qualifiers when we sealed qualification, we said we are not just going to the AFCON we are going to come back with the trophy.
And on how supportive he would be for the team even if he does not get regular playing time:”Everyone know me, even when we qualified for the 2018 World Cup, most of the qualifiers I didn’t play but from the bench you could see the support I was giving the players.
“So for me, it’s just to back the team no matter what. Whether I play or not it doesn’t bother me because I know with my support we can go places.”
17 Comments
Egypt should worry about Nigeria. How to contain the arrays of stars. They have only Salah. He will support defence . I see him doing more of defending and trying to take us on the counter. S.E will humble Salah and co
Nice one Musa,u have spoken well as a captain,I can forgive ur loss of form for this comment u made, having said that I Will appeal to our technical bench to please start either uzoho or akpeyi,both keepers are better than okoye who is a basket on d post.he might be good at club but club football is different from national team football.dont be afraid also to unleash chukwueze and ejuke same time to out pressure on thier defence ,u can bring in Simon second half to help the defence .
Most capped and most experience player speaking there.. A confident Ahmed Musa for you..Carry go the real senior man!
Great captain, good confidence…I’m actually not expecting anything from this team,the boys are good,but the whole problem surrounding this team ranging from injuries to club vs country war,then the limited time for preparation;not forgetting we have a new coach who last coached a team 12years ago,Let’s be realistic we will be lucky to reach the quarter finals,and mind you if come 2nd in dis group we are facing Algeria in round of 16…thats not good bro…Let’s just support them…anyway the result turn out to be its okay,our team is in crisis.
CAF should stop this jan.-Feb. Afcon,if its the rain find a solution,work on stadiums before Afcon…June – July is the right time to play any international tournament
Musa should be realistic Mohammed sallah is not a kind of player you should not considered a threat with his present form. I learnt Osimhen is not going to Afcon I don’t believe we will be having a good tournament.
Football is 11 vs 11. Salah can’t deliver Egypt by himself. If care is not taken, the Egyptians may not qualify from the group. African Football is growing. You saw what smaller countries did to the Super Eagles in our last few games. Anything can happen. Other than Salah, I am not hearing of any other Egyptian player. Why?
Good encouragement..
All the best
We gat your back boss Man.
I seriously loved your spirit.
Thank you! Didier Drogba, Yahya Toure, Kalou and all the Ivorian stars were present on the day we played them in 2013 AFCON Quarterfinals. Yet, Oboabona and Omeruo pocketed them. It was Sunday MBA that finished them off. Salah alone can’t deliver Egypt. By the way, a good number of their AFCON trophies were won on their home turf as hosts.
POST 2022 AFCON:
Who will captain the Super Eagles in the absence of Musa, Ekong, Balogun and Ighalo?
Just looking forward!!!
I don’t expect you to come on air and say you are worried about Salah but you should have a comprehensive plan to stop him…….. You guys should be worried about him in the secret and start now to strategize on how to stop him…. Simple.
Akp, I disagree with you on this one. Salah will be substituted in the match if care is not taken. He can’t collect the ball from the keeper and dribble his way to our goal area. He needs to be fed. Once his supply is cut off, he will be useless. Liverpool is different from Pharaoh’s. The only thing we should worry about is fouling him in dangerous areas because the refrees will be biased against any defender that brings him down, foul or no foul.
Salah can not dribble the whole field which he does not do too at Liverpool……But Salah is a danger in the box 18 because of his awareness and finishing ability…… Paying attention to him is a wise idea…….Am not saying he should be man marked but he should be taken care of……. Moreover cutting off his supply is also a way of taking care of him.
Egypt Saleh can be stopped and crushed. Didn’t South Africans defeat them in their home ground two or three years ago. Saleh cried and ran away to Liverpool, England. Ighalo and Ejaku will embarrassed them next week. Believe me.
This is something I admire about Musa – always smiling and positive!
It is good to acknowledge that Mo Salah is dangerous but it is better to stop him from damaging us. Our defence should keep close watch on all their strikers and attacking midfielders. Our attackers should damage Egypt upfront in the game. I bleed green! Eagles will soar past Pharaoh and his football armies by God’s grace.
Amen to your prayer above. It appears Odion Ighalo has also been finally released by Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia to play at AFCON. I read he is on his way to Garoua Cameroun on a private jet to link up with Super Eagles.
@Diran,is this news true?Will be the happiest man.