Rohr Clarifies Why Musa Played Against Lesotho

The former Leicester City man was supposed to be a non-playing captain in the latest international window, but he came on as a substitute in the clash against the Crocodiles 

Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr has revealed that Ahmed Musa played in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho because there was a shortage of attacking players.

Musa’s call-up for Nigeria’s final two Afcon qualifiers against The Benin Republic and Lesotho drew a lot of criticism.

The Super Eagles captain’s invitation was questioned as he has been without a club since he left Al-Nassr in October 2020.

However, Rohr clarified that Musa was invited in a non-playing capacity and would not play a part in either game.

The German stayed true to his word in the clash against Benin as Musa was an unused substitute. But to everyone’s surprise, Musa came on as a late substitute for Kelechi Iheanacho in the encounter against Lesotho.

Rohr has now revealed Musa was introduced due to a lack of options in the attacking department.

“Musa played because we had a situation with our players in Lagos,” Rohr told the media after the match against Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

“We were left with only a few options in the attack. Musa was fit, he was in good fitness, and there was no reason not to allow him to play. He is the captain of the team.”

Musa’s late appearance on Tuesday was his 96th cap for the Super Eagles, and he’s just six appearances away from breaking the record number of caps for Nigeria.