Ahmed Musa is the latest player to pull out of Nigeria’s international friendly match against Ukraine billed to hold at the Dnipro Arena next week Tuesday, reports Completesports.com.
Musa will miss the game as a result of the injury he picked up while in action for his Saudi Arabia club, Al Nassr.
The winger has made two league appearances for Al Nassr this season.
In Musa’s absence, Udinese defender William Ekong will lead the Super Eagles out in the friendly.
Kenneth Omeruo, Tyronne Ebuehi, Henry Onyekuru and Wilfred Ndidi have already pulled out of the game.
Head coach of the team, Gernot Rohr has already handed late callup to Emmanuel Dennis and Josh Maja for the game.
The duo of Anderson Esiti and Bryan Idowu were earlier added to the squad.
By Adeboye Amosu
11 Comments
Oga Rohr how market? If your answer shows that things are hard,then it’s a pity. In fact I’m still wondering what Iwobi is doing in that camp. He should be at his new club,partaking in the training sessions that are holding during this international break esp because,he had no pre-season with them.His work with his new club will eventually benefit the Super Eagles,not so?
Yeah injuries are not desirable but these injuries and all other factors have now become such a blessing in disguise to help this man think outside the box. He would have been with Ndidi now. Haba!
Teams protect their players. Hmm I guess if it was Rohr,Batshuayi may not have been invited for Belgium,let alone start. But Batshuayi started and scored two yesterday.
Shevchenko’s side very beatable,even with our U-23 team,so Super Eagles go for it.
Success
Thank God o! This Musa no go play this match,abeg make him follow Mikel go,did Musa na waste,musa no get football brain at all.
I think after this game some of the regulars will lose their places in super eagles,
We have Moses Simon,Kalu Samuel, Chukwueze and Bonaventure so we are well covered in the wings,though Musa’s experience pace and tenacity would be missed.What he brings to the team is inestimable.
Nice one Greenturf.
We are more than covered in the flanks. Also, such friendlies are an opportunity to see what some ‘fringe players’ have to offer.
We already know what Musa has to offer, it’s time to see what others bring to the party.
Someone like Onyekuru will be missed though becasue he hasn’t had prolonged spell of games for the national team so it would have been nice to see him for 90 minutes against Ukraine. His time will come.
I love Musa, if not for anything but for his commitment n fearlessness, he doesn’t give a damn about whoever we are playing. He has this thing in his head that he is better than Messi/ Ronaldo n try to show this in matches against teams having those kinda players. But his only problem is his final balls. I d suggest Musa remain in the team but come in from the bench. Sure gonna cause loads of problem when he comes in from bench.
@ Glory.
You are very right.
Musa’s confident is outstanding.
He has that self belief that has always worked for him in big tournaments,
But I think due to his pace has always been played out of position,mostly in the national team and his time at Leicester city, thereby causing no real damage in the final third.
He has pace but he is never a winger. He doesn’t have the delivery a winger should have,the crosses and vertical square play isn’t there.
Musa is best suited in as a false nine or behind the lone striker.
He has great finishing attribute.
He played in such position at Venlo,and Cska Moscow ,even at Kano pillars.and he scored lots of goals playing there.
It is just a pity he is being used in the wings,just because of pace…
You nailed it Mr Hush,that guy is a goal scorer supreme.He’s such a cool customer in front of goal. Many people don’t recognize this. Indeed his pace has been his greatest “undoing”,making many coaches think he is a winger. HE IS NOT.
True,CSK Moscow showed us how to play Musa and he was such a terror in front of goal. Also the two other clubs you mentioned too.
I understand that at the time Musa came in to the Super Eagles, we were kind of fixated on finding a pacy winger like we are used to having. Musa was thus converted to play that role,but the experiment now seems to be the norm and this is not looking fair really.
I think now that we have able wingers,it’s time to use Musa in where his was born to play.He born to score,playing in the position Mr Hush described. He can drift wide like a Harry Kane,but like Harry Kane too,he’s so deadly in front of goal.
Many will join England and say Musa flopped there? How do you describe a flop? Did u play him in his due role and he flopped. Let’s not judge these players without indepth analysis of events.
My only issue with Musa now,is this Qatar move. What is the skipper of a World Class team doing there?He was too weighty at the AFCON.
However,I wish Rohr can now give Musa the honour he deserves,play him through the middle and he would not disappoint. That’s certain.
@Hush & Oge,you guys nailed it.
I watched Musa play for Kano Pillars and the home based Eagles in Yr 2010 and I saw a world class player in the making. Infact , I expected the National team selectors to have ensured that Musa played a bench role at the 2010 world cup so as to start exposing him early.
I was not in support of drafting him into John Obuh’s U20 team to Colombia 2011, cuz the guy had already been discovered and had started playing in Europe, so he wasn’t needed in that team. To the world , most especially those who didn’t watch him play before then, they saw Musa as a great player, but for those of us that knew him before then, we knew coach John Obuh was the first coach that committed the error of playing him from the wings cuz of his speed and from there every other coach followed suit.
Unknown to many, Musa is a type of CR7, who can play as a false nine that has the freedom to drop to the wings, deploy his skill and speed to put his marker behind him and cap it up by being extremely dangerous in front of goal.
This is the guy that broke the Nigerian league’s 19 year goal record in the same season that he missed a good number of matches due to injury and call ups to Super Eagles team B, yet he returned to Kano Pillars to emerge highest goal scorer of all time in the Nigerian league.
I wouldn’t know if our coaches think Musa achieved this enviable fit by playing from the wings. They have abandoned his major strength and have restricted him to the wings cuz of his speed. What a pity!
Thanks for this added analysis and info @OmoEsan. True picture of thing,is what we lay bare.
Well spoken my people. I really enjoyed your analysis. Wisdom, goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Amin. Keep it up my people. Happy weekend. God bless us all. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!