Pius Ayinor
Moses Simon is set to join the few Nigerian players who have played at least 100 games with the Super Eagles. And to this end, the Nigeria Football Federation has concluded arrangements to honour the ace forward who will win his 100th cap for Nigeria at senior level if he is featured in Friday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Madagascar.
The fleet-footed forward played his first match for the Super Eagles on 25th March 2015, and as of today, has amassed 99 caps during which he scored 12 goals.
In those 99 games, the Super Eagles won 49 times when he was involved, and drew 30 times, while 20 games were lost.
A diligent, dedicated, and resilient servant of the beautiful game, Moses Simon has been involved in 64 competitive matches for Nigeria, as well as 35 friendly games. He has featured in a total of 23 matches for Nigeria at the AFCON finals, and played in 22 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
One of his first matches for Nigeria was the 2018 FIFA World Cup preliminary qualifying fixture against Swaziland, the return leg of which was played in Port Harcourt. After a scoreless draw in Mbabane, the Eagles needed to win to enter the real race for the qualification campaign. The match dragged towards the end before Simon scored direct from a 22-yard free-kick to set Nigeria on the path to a 2-0 win.
“I can testify that Moses Simon is an incredible player and a wonderful human being, having related with him at close quarters for several years. He is a patriot to the core, and forever passionate and dedicated to the Nigeria cause. The NFF celebrates him on this special occasion and wishes him many more caps with the Super Eagles.” NFF’s Acting General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, said on Thursday.
PHOTO: Moses Simon
