| credits: Chukky Nwakky
Football-loving
Nigerians have commended Super Eagles forward, Ahmed Musa, for his
superb performance against the Argentina team in the ongoing World Cup
in Brazil.
The 21-year-old footballer, who plays for
CSKA Moscow, Russia, made history on Wednesday by becoming the first
Nigerian to ever score two times in a World Cup match.
Although the Super Eagles lost the match –
which ended 3-2 – to their opponents, Musa scored Nigeria’s fastest
goal at the World Cup in the fourth minute.
Impressed by the player’s performance,
the management of the Kano Pillars, where he held the enviable record
for the highest number of goals ever scored in one season in the Nigeria
Premier League until November 2011, sang his praises.
The Nigerian club described him on
Twitter as a good ambassador doing his country proud on the global
stage. It said it could wait for the Nigerian international to do more
expoits at the World Cup.
“We are very proud of our own Ahmed Musa.
We knew he can do it. We wish him all the best in future games with the
Super Eagles at the World Cup,” Kano Pillars tweeted.
Nigeria international and Académica de
Coimbra player, John Ogu, attributed Musa’s performance to his
determination to make a mark.
He posted the mugshot of the chat he had
with Musa hours before the game in which he reportedly promised to give
his best to the game and net a goal.
“We made it to the second round. I am
proud of these guys. Awesome performance from the lads. In my chat with
Ahmed Musa before the game against Argentina, he promised to score a
goal. He believed and he made it,” Ogu tweeted.
Ogu described the Super Eagles as “the
23-man soldiers” doing Nigeria proud in Brazil and he urged Nigerians to
support the team in order to encourage them to spring surprises in the
global competition.
The Super Eagles have also thanked fellow
Nigerians for keeping faith with them through their trying times in the
ongoing tournament.
Writing on their official Twitter page,
the Eagles said they were happy to be the first African team to advance
to the second round of the competition.
The players said they were looking
forward to receiving encouragement from football fans back home as they
advance to the round of 16.
“We are through to the Round of 16. We’re
proud of ourselves. And to the fans, we say thank you for being there
all the step of the way Thank you to all our fans. Please do send in
your well-wishes,” the Super Eagles said.
Meanwhile, Nigeria international and
France’s AS Monaco left back, Elderson Echiejile, who was dropped from
the 23-man World Cup team list after suffering an injury in a friendly
match, has expressed satisfaction with the performance of his
colleagues.
Echiejile asked his teammates to remain
focused and to keep the fighting spirit alive as the tournament enters
the knockout stage. He urged Nigerians to support the team rather than
write them off.
“Congrats guys; It was a good fight. Keep the spirit alive. Up Super Eagles,” the message on his Twitter page on Thursday read.
Also, singer Waje, who could not hide her
joy over the performance of the Super Eagles, was full of praises for
Musa and his teammates. She noted that though the Super Eagles lost the
game, Musa’s style of play was exceptional and the players worked as a
team.
“We qualified! My boys played a good game, we lost the game but we gave them good play. Argentina sef respect I sure. France, see you soon
Nigerians should see why all ethnic
groups and tribes need each other? Either from the north, east, west or
south. Remember, it was Musa who did us proud today. I love you Musa,”
Waje wrote on Twitter.
But President Hassan Rouhani of Iran has
heaped praises on that country’s national team, even as they crashed out
of the World Cup in the group stages without winning a single match.
“Well played to our Persian Cheetahs! It
might not be the result you deserved but great effort and heads held
high! No matter the result, you boys have made us proud!” he tweeted.
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