The thinking behind the decision to play Al Nassr forward Ahmed Musa in attack for Nigeria when they take on South Africa in Saturday’s AFCON 2019 Qualifiers has been explained to Owngoalnigeria.com.
Coach Gernot Rohr experimented with the former Leicester City forward in a false number 9 role and he didn’t disappoint as his pace saw him win a penalty in yesterday’s session, which was held behind close doors.
Although the duo of Victor Osimhen and Isaac Success are out and out strikers, Rohr appears to be keen on using the pace of Musa in running behind defenders to wreck the slow backline of Bafana Bafana.
The option of playing Success upfront is still being mooted but for now, Rohr is pinning on using the pace of his forwards in Samuel Kalu, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi in a 4-3-3 formation against South Africa on Saturday.
Musa is no stranger to playing as a pseudo-striker as he severally operated in same capacity for CSKA Moscow during his time with the Russian club and also in Nigeria’s second game at the World Cup 2018 in Russia, where he scored a brace.
