Nigeria vs Sierra Leone: Ahmed Musa Confident Of Sealing AFCON Place (AUDIO)

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa has backed Nigeria to seal a place at next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon after the current round of qualifiers against Sierra Leone.

Nigeria take on the Leone Stars in back-to-back 2021 AFCON qualifiers, first on 13 November at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium and then four days later in Freetown.

The Eagles currently lead Group L having taken maximum points from their opening two games against Benin Republic and Lesotho and victories in both games against Sierra Leone will see the three-time African champions hosed and dry at the continental showpiece with two games to spare.

So far, sixteen players have reported to camp in Benin and the Eagles held their first training session on Tuesday.

Speaking after their training session, Musa who is currently without a club having recently left Saudi side Al-Nassr, underscored what was at stake for Nigeria and assured the team is ready for the Leone Stars.

“If we win this game on Friday and then the next game, we are going to qualify for the AFCON,” Musa told reporters.

“So, as you can see, everyone is happy, we are just expecting the rest of the boys and I hope this night they’re gonna be here or tomorrow in the morning.

“We are just ready, waiting for Friday.”

The Super Eagles played friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia in November in preparation for this round of qualifiers with Eagles boss Gernot Rohr handing first time call ups to a number of players.

While not every player has kept their place in the squad, defenders Zaidu Sanusi and Kevin Akpoguma earned a recall and Rohr handed a first call up to goalkeeper Sebastian Osigwe.

Musa said the number of new players in the squad points to the quality available in the team and with increased competition for places, players are more than keen to prove they deserve their spots.

The former Kano Pillars striker backed whoever gets the nod against Sierra Leone to give a good account of themselves and get the job done for Nigeria.

“As you can see, the last two friendlies we played there were a lot of new players in the team so the coach tried to give everybody the chance to show themselves,” the former Leicester City forward said.

“So, I think with the good players that we have, everybody is ready, its just the chance that everybody needs.”