The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro yesterday made public the list of players who will represent Nigeria when the world cup qualifiers begin on the 19th of November, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
23 players were called up for the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively. Two notable senior players in Ahmed Musa the captain and his vice captain William Troost-Ekong were left out of the squad.
Ekong has fallen out of favour with Peseiro and hasn’t played in the last two competitive games for the team and wasn’t called up for the test games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique respectively, despite enjoying regular run of games at Greek side PAOK.
The same goes for Musa who is back to full fitness after missing the past three months through injury. He is however struggling to get into the team at Turkish side Sivasspor with his only appearance in a matchday squad since the opening day of the season coming against Artvin Hopaspor in the Turkish Cup.
Musa was an unused substitute in the game. He has since then not been selected in any matchday squad, a situation that has made him to reconsider not just his international future but also his club future.
Per what we exclusively gathered, the 31 year old has made up his mind that the next AFCON will be his last in the colours of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, a team he has represented since 2012. He will likely quit football in it’s entirety to focus on his chains of businesses that he has established over the years.
Sources close to the winger say he could bring the plans forward if his situation at club and national level stays the same between now and the end of the year.
Osas Mahawi
