Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has assured Nigerians that the Super Eagles are mature, professional, and ambitious enough to deal with any pressure when taking on the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in Tuesday’s crucial game of Group C of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying African series.
Nigeria leads the group after five matches with 12 points while Cape Verde follows closely with 10 points, and that explains the importance of the encounter in Lagos.
After a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Liberia in Tangier, the former Leicester City forward confirmed the team has the right mindset to execute the mission.
“There will always be all kinds of pressure when you are out there on the football field, as a professional sportsman or woman,” said Musa. “You just must have strong fibre to cope with the pressure from everywhere, focus on getting the result and get the job done.
“Pressure is never an excuse not to put out your best; sometimes, it helps you to get beyond your level best.”
At a pre-match press conference on Monday in Lagos, Musa who holds Nigeria’s record international appearance also said a number of players in the squad have yet to feature at the FIFA World Cup finals and that would serve as good motivation.
“The FIFA World Cup is the biggest stage for every professional football player. They all want to be there; you don’t need any more motivation than that.
“We said after the match with Liberia in Tangier on Saturday that we will not be going for a draw against Cape Verde. Nothing has changed,” he stated.
Musa also gave an assurance that the Eagles would not be complacent or underrate the Sharks but go all out as from the blast of the whistle by Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal.