Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr finally gives reasons for inviting club-less Musa for AFCON 2022 qualifiers
- Gernot Rohr says Ahmed Musa will not feature in Nigeria's games against Benin and Lesotho
- The 28-year-old forward has been without a club since last October after quitting Al Nassr
- Musa's inclusion in the national team sqaud for the two games this month has generated a lot of reactions
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Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has offered explanations regarding the reason for the invitation of Ahmed Musa for this month's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho.
The German-born manager named the club-less 28-year-old winger in a 24-man squad for the double-header later this month and the player's inclusion has sparked up various reactions.
While some believe that the handler was right to call-up the team captain for the games, others have slammed him for bringing an inactive player for competitive games.
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However, while defending himself, the 2019 bronze-winning manager insisted that the winger was invited to play a non-competitive role in the two games.
Source: Getty Images
He specifically said that the former Leicester City man will not feature in any of the two matches lined up for the Eagles later in March. Rohr told BBC Sport Africa on Wednesday:
"It's important to clarify that Musa is not on the competitive list of 23 players for our game against Benin and Lesotho.
"We've invited Musa as the captain by making him the 24th player, but he is not as part of the 23 on the list that will play our two matches.
"What is important now is to focus on the games ahead and not to be distracted by anything else. We hope for all our prayers to be fit and travel down safely for the matches."
Meanwhile, Almeria's Sadiq Umar who won the Olympic bronze medal with the country's U23 team in 2016 has been given the nod this time.
Nigeria squad:
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (APOEL Nicosia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista, Portugal); William Troost-Ekong (Watford, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn, Germany); Zaidu Sanusi (Porto, Portugal); Tyronne Ebuehi (Twente, The Netherlands)
Midfielders: Oghenekaro Etebo (Galatasaray, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Abdullahi Shehu (Omonia Nicosia, Cyprus); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England)
Forwards: Alex Iwobi (Everton, England); Sadiq Umar (Almeria, Spain); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Italy); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Moses Simon (Nantes, France)
Non-playing captain: Ahmed Musa (Unattached)
Standby: Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Henry Onyekuru (Galatasaray, Turkey); Peter Olayinka (Slavia Praha, Czech Republic); Terem Moffi (Lorient, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Michael Olise (Reading, England); Adekunle Adeleke (Abia Warriors)
Legit.ng earlier reported that ex-Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amuneke has faulted Ahmed Musa's invitation to the Super Eagles' camp for this month's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho.
The former Premier League star made coach Gernot Rohr's 24-man list despite being clubless since last October after parting ways with Saudi Arabia outfit Al Nassr.
He almost got signed up by West Bromwich Albion during the January transfer window but the deal collapsed in the end.
Oluwatomiwa is a sports editor with Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication. Connect with him on Twitter @TomiwaBabalola.
Source: Legit.ng
