Moses Simon reached a landmark 100th appearance for the Super Eagles in Friday’s 2-1 win over Madagascar, becoming only the fourth outfield player in the team’s history to hit the century mark.
The Paris FC winger came off the bench in Uyo, sharing his introduction with debutant Usor before Nigeria completed a second-half turnaround.
Simon’s Super Eagles story stretches back to March 2015, when he made his debut as a second-half substitute for Anthony Ujah in a friendly against Uganda.
Over the eleven years since, he’s built a reputation as one of the squad’s most durable performers, featuring in both AFCON qualifying battles and World Cup campaigns without ever quite falling out of the picture.
By the time he walked out for his 100th cap, he had scored 12 goals for the national team, with a squad win rate hovering close to 50 percent across his appearances.
That longevity is part of what makes Friday’s milestone significant. Coaches have come and gone, and so have entire generations of teammates, but Simon has kept finding a way back into the squad a testament to his versatility as much as his fitness.
Reaching 100 caps places Simon alongside Ahmed Musa, Joseph Yobo and Alex Iwobi as the only Nigerian players to have crossed the threshold.
Musa remains the country’s record appearance-holder with 110 caps, while Yobo and Iwobi are tied on 101 meaning Simon needs just two more outings to draw level with that pair and three to move clear of them.
The Nigeria Football Federation arranged a pitch-side recognition for Simon ahead of kickoff, with acting general secretary Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme leading the tributes. Ikpeme described Simon as a patriot to the core in a statement released before the match, praising his commitment to the national team across the years.
