Sports
Musa Happy With Contributions To S’Eagles
The CSK Moscow player,
Ahmed Musa, 21, lost words in describing how happy he was at contributing two goals in Super Eagles 2-3 loss to Argentina in the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.
The loss still took the African champions to the Round of 16 of the tournament.
Musa, Born on October 14, 1992 in the Plateau capital, Jos, expressed his joy at a post match news conference at the end of the last Group F game, at the Estadio Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre.
Responding simply to a comment that as the most criticised player in Nigeria, what his feelings were realising that his contribution had stood him out, he said: “I am happy I have proved my critics wrong”.
Part of the criticisms was that Musa in many cases would always out run his opponents only to fail to create chances or fail to properly utilise chances created for him to score goals.
But on a day that mattered most, against Argentina in order to qualify for the Round of 16, Musa rose to the occasion for the first time.
He slotted two vital goals that set the country toward almost breaking the jinx of getting past Argentina in a World Cup.
His equalising goal in the fourth minute after Lionel Messi scored in the third minute forced Argentina to temporarily slow down their attack.
“It was a win-win situation for both Argentina and Nigeria,’’ whipped Duro Ikhaziagbe, a Lagos-based journalist who is in Brazil to cover the World Cup as players and fans of both countries ended up back slapping each other.
“This is the third time Musa will make the Eagles’ squad against Argentina, two of which were in friendly games.
“On two of the previous games, he failed to lift, but had reserved the best for the last — in a World Cup situation — with the crucial goals that helped the Eagles to make the round of 16’’.
Another, Nigerian journalist, Munini Alao, the General Manager of Complete Sports also in Brazil to cover the Mundial, used the occasion to acknowledge the sterling contributions of the player.
Alao apologised to the player and Nigerians that he had once been one of the critics of Musa.
“Accept my apologies,’’ Alao said, a rare gesture from a journalist.
“The Argentines have always beaten us at the FIFA World Cup, though narrowly each time.
“We also need to show our true strength as the champions of Africa,” Aminu Maigari, President of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) had told the players before the match.
Nigeria met Argentina first at USA ’94 World Cup, losing 1-2 in Boston on June 25, 1994, and was again pipped 1-0 courtesy of a Gabriel Batistuta goal in Ibaraki, Japan on June 2, 2002.
When both sides met in South Africa four years ago, an early goal by Gabriel Heinze condemned the Eagles to a 1-0 defeat.
However, at the Olympic Games, the story was not the same, in Atlanta ’96 in the U.S., Nigeria beat them to the gold medal — a victory that left the Argentines flustered for many years.
Argentina U-23 team to the 2008 Olympic Games in China had evened-up the Olympic record with 1-0 victory over Nigeria at the final.
However, it is sweet to recall fond memories of the 4-1 defeat the Eagles handed down to Argentina in a friendly in Abuja on June 1, 2011.
But importantly, the 3-2 defeat by the U-23 team that gave Africa the first Olympic football gold in Atlanta, 18 years ago.
However, in the match in Porto Alegre, the Argentines were more or less “playing having entered Brazil, its neighbours.
The Argentines fans had occupied every available space and virtually drowning the voices of a pockets of Nigerian fans that managed to traverse almost 10 hours across the Atlantic Ocean, to be part of their national team’s outing at the quadrennial soccer extravaganza.
Musa deserved his pay. Indeed, he earned it through hard work., utilising his chance off a pass by the now injured, Michael Babatunde to send a solid strike that stretched the Argentine goalkeeper who dived full length but failed to stop the goal from going past him.
The player, who is 1.70 metres tall and currently weighs 62 kg, began his football career in 2008 and now plays a striking role in PFC CSKA Moscow.
However, it was Musa, Emmanuel Emenike and Peter Odemwingie playing up were instrumental to the Eagles’
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.