APPEARANCE RECORD: Countdown Begins for Ahmed Musa

Kyiv - Nigeria plays against Ukraine in Kyiv during the FIFA International Match week. Already, Nigeria will miss several top names including Wilfred Ndidi and Kenneth Omeruo. Added to that list are thew retirees skipper Mikel Obi and Jude Ighalo. Indeed, the Kyiv international is already looking like a rebuilding phase for Nigeria.

But while fans are expecting the debut of the likes of Aribo, Okoye, and Josh Maja; the other story is Ahmed Musa's march towards a major national team record. Nigeria's Ahmed Musa, at 27 years old, is headed towards a record number of international appearances for Nigeria's senior national team. He has 90 appearances already and is just 10 games away from matching Joseph Yobo at second place with 100 appearances. He needs 12 games to go ahead of Vincent Enyeama who has, currently, the most appearances at 101. See Table 1 below:

Musa should be at almost 100 games by late 2020 and will surely be the record holder if he remains a starter going into the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). He is currently the team captain, following the retirement of Obi Mikel. Team captainship is a redemption for Musa who was first made captain under the tenure of the temperamental Sunday Oliseh but was quickly stripped of the armband by Samson Siasia after Oliseh's departure. At the time it seemed, by media reports, that Musa's interest in the national team was at its lowest ebb. However, something clicked and his interest was reinvigorated. He re-established himself as starter and was Nigeria's top player at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Now, fully back as captain, Musa's leadership and play will be one of the focal points as Nigeria seeks a second consecutive qualification for the AFCON after missing three of four tournaments before returning in 2019.

Enigmatic Career and His Competition
Musa's career has been enigmatic. You never know what you will get with Musa. Sometimes, his incredible pace paints the picture of an unstoppable footballer with an eye for a goal or an assist. That characteristic has seen him dominate in World Cup games for Nigeria. Yet, in less profile games, Musa can become lost. Unable to make the easy pass or the cross. It is that uncertainty about his play that had moved him to sometime starter and sometime substitute in his earlier appearances for Nigeria. However, since his explosive display at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Musa has become a fixture as a starter. However, his career minutes average only 63.21. 

Although, Musa is barely 12 games to first place in the appearance log for country, it will take a lot of hard work to get there. While he was the starter at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, he also had a nondescript performance. Moreover, if there is a position where Nigeria has abundance of talents it is at the wide offensive areas where Musa's appearances have come. Now, he is faced with competition from Samuel Kalu, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, and the emerging star Samuel Chukwueze. The question, ultimately, is can Musa keep his starter position in the face of stiff competition?

So far, the plausible answer is yes. Musa's pace remains the most deadly among those competitors. But it is not just about his pace, he is often involved in goals scored by Nigeria. This has given him one of the best assist numbers for the country in recent years. With at least three games with a brace of assists (v Tahiti 2013, South Africa 2013, and Libya 2018), Musa is a key figure. Importantly, he is more likely to score when compared to his competitors, barring Onyekuru. He has scored four braces of goals in his career (Argentina 2014, Sudan 2014, Togo 2017, and Iceland 2018).

Gernot is the Unknown in Musa's Quest 

But the unknown is what Coach Gernot Rohr would do. After the AFCON, Rohr faced the harshest criticism that he has faced since his tenure in Nigeria. That rumbling and the pressure is likely to force Rohr to locate players that will now head to the bench as he attempts to recapture support from the Nigerian public. Among those likely to be victims include Ahmed Musa whose AFCON performance was not exactly positive. While the captainship may well protect Musa, it is uncertain whether Rohr will take that into consideration when wringing changes that he needs to recapture some support.

While Gernot Rohr's conservatism and tendency to stick with the players he knows is widely acknowledged, he has decisively benched players that had been starters. The examples are numerous. Think of Onazi Ogenyi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Mikel Obi, and Francis Uzoho. All three were unquestioned starters under Rohr until Rohr benched them without hesitation. Onazi was not just benched but was not called up for AFCON 2019. Rohr stuck with Iheanacho for a while but when he pulled the plug it led to Iheanacho not making the 23-man list for AFCON 2019. Mikel Obi was seen as a critical player going into AFCON 2019 but stumbled and Rohr sent him to the bench and a sudden end of an international career. Uzoho was touted as young and being groomed for No.1 goalkeeper. He was chosen as starter ahead of more experienced competitors but Uzoho's club travails and blunder against Seychelles in Asaba sent him to the bench where he was only considered for a less meaningful third place game at AFCON 2019. Thus, Musa cannot be assured of a starting position if he does not begin to escape the poor display that was his play at AFCON 2019.

How Musa Gets There
If Musa maintain's his starting spot and is injury free, then the record number of appearances will surely belong to him. This will come via six (6) AFCON 2021 qualifying games against Lesotho, Benin Republic, and Sierra Leone; two (2) or more international friendlies during two international match windows of September and October 2019; two (2) international friendlies the week of two World Cup qualifiers in March and June 2020; possible two (2) international friendlies during the summer break of 2020; and two (2) international friendlies the week of two AFCON qualifiers in August and September 2020. Thus, even before the conclusion of 2021 AFCON qualifiers in November 9-17 of 2020, Musa may already be the leader in appearances for Nigeria and he can extend that lead going to a possible last World Cup appearance in 2022.