Ahmed Musa on Tuesday evening bagged his milestone 100th Nigeria cap as the Super Eagles beat the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde 2-1 in a 2022 World Cup qualifier played in Mindelo.
Musa who captained the Super Eagles against Cape Verde was later replaced in the second half of the game.
According to a frontline sports journalist, Adepoju Tobi Samuel, who was in Cape Verde, President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, was quoted as saying that:
“The NFF will give Ahmed Musa N10 million for reaching the 100 caps. We will sustain this gesture and honour our players that have hit 100 games henceforth.”
After representing the country at youth level, Musa made his senior debut on August 5, 2010, in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar – coming in as a substitute for ex-Chelsea star John Obi Mikel in the 2-0 win.
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner has thus become the third centurion for Nigeria, moving one short of Super Eagles’ record cap holders Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama who have 101 caps each.
Should the Kano Pillars legend – who has 15 international goals to his credit – feature against the Central African Republic in October, he will join the former Everton and Lille stars in the country’s hallowed ranks.
The Fatih Karagumruk of Turkey star shot into the international limelight after helping Nigeria U23 win the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup where he scored goals against Benin Republic and Burkina Faso.
Though, before the match in Cape Verde, there were reports that FIFA allegedly pegged Musa’s caps to 98.
According to reports, Musa was fielded in a friendly against Togo back in June 2017 and the game wasn’t recognised by FIFA because manager Gernot Rohr utilised nine substitutes, three more than the limit permitted by the football’s world governing body.
In the eyes of FIFA, Musa had 97 caps before Tuesday’s game, as the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria, in which Musa featured, wasn’t recognised by the Zurich based organisation because Nigeria fielded an ineligible player Abdullahi Shehu.
The match was declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Algeria, with the NFF also receiving a fine of CHF 6000.