AFCON 2023: Ahmed Musa urges Nigeria mates to ignore negative energy in glory hunt

Nigeria captain, Ahmed Musa has tasked his national teammates to ignore social media critics and focus on achieving big success at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Nigeria are gunning for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title on their 20th campaign, with their last triumph on the continental stage coming over a decade ago in 2013.

The Super Eagles have been under intense scrutiny over the team’s inconsistent form ahead of the AFCON in recent months. In November 2023, the team drew Lesotho and Zimbabwe in their first two matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Nigeria then lost 2-0 to Guinea in a friendly game a few days before heading for AFCON.

Musa, who is currently Nigeria’s most-capped player and has played a peripheral role in the Super Eagles in recent years, revealed the impact of negative social comments on the team members.

“I see the comments on social media, but I don’t listen to what people say. I work hard always to do my talking on the pitch,” he said.

“This is the same thing my teammates are doing. People talk about our players but I say we have the best players here and they are all good.

“We are not kids that the coach would supervise our social media activities. We don’t take everything on social media to heart.”