Ahmed Musa: 3 reasons Nigerians are protesting against Peseiro's AFCON list

Ahmed Musa: 3 reasons Nigerians are protesting against Peseiro's AFCON list

Faruq Ibrahim 22:50 - 09.06.2023

We review three of the reasons why Nigerians do not want to see Ahmed Musa get a call-up.

The Super Eagles manager, Jose Peseiro, has released the 23-man shortlist to take on Sierra Leone in the AfCON qualifier later this month, and his choice of selection has come under criticism.

The bulk of the displeasure results from the Portuguese's decision to include Sivasspor forward and captain of the team Ahmed Musa. 

Fans of the national team have taken to various social media platforms to share their annoyance, so we have collated three of the reasons why Nigerians do not want to see the former Al-Nassr striker get a call-up. 

He barely plays for his club 

The former Leicester forward has only started four games for his club in the Turkey Super Lig this season and has only played 671 minutes of football throughout the season. 

Nigerians believe this is counter-intuitive to what should be a policy of meritocracy, as shared by the following Twitter users:  

In form young forwards missed out

Seven forward players made Jose Peseiro's squad of 23, but it conspicuously omits the Europa League striker of the season, Union Saint-Gilloise's Victor Boniface, and Gent's second-top scorer, Gift Orban. 

The fans of the Super Eagles believe Musa's presence takes away a spot that should have been occupied by those better-in-form forwards, as seen in the following tweets:

Ahmed Musa's age 

Despite being only 31, fans believe the skipper is too old to still be a regular for the Nigerian national team. 

Being the most capped player of the Super Eagles, fans have seen him don the green and white of Nigeria for longer than any other player, creating the perception that he has overstayed his welcome. 

The following tweets show firsthand what people think of 'old' Musa:

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