Joseph Yobo Backs Alex Iwobi to Reach 130 Nigeria Caps and Beyond

Former Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo believes Alex Iwobi can go on to make well over 130 appearances for the Super Eagles, after the Fulham midfielder became only the fourth Nigeria player to reach 100 caps.

Iwobi reached the milestone in June, in Nigeria's friendly against Portugal, over a decade after his international debut. That puts him alongside Yobo, Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa as the only players to have made at least 100 appearances for the national team. Musa currently holds the record with 110 caps, but Yobo thinks the 30 year old Iwobi has both the time and the discipline to go well past that mark.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see Alex getting to 130 or 130-plus because he's still very active," Yobo told ESPN. "He's still performing at the highest level. You always pray and hope you don't get injured because these things can derail you. But knowing Alex, his professional mindset, his commitment and everything, I just hope that he goes as far as he can. Because I think the 130 barrier can be broken. Easily. Especially with a player like Alex, who is very committed."

Iwobi picked up his 100th cap in Nigeria's 2-1 friendly loss to Portugal in Leiria on June 10, and was handed a commemorative shirt by the NFF before the game. Born in Nigeria but raised in England, he came through England's youth setup before switching to represent Nigeria, making his senior debut against DR Congo back in October 2015.

He now has the chance to start building toward 130 straight away, having been named in Eric Chelle's squad for Nigeria's 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar on Friday and Guinea-Bissau four days later.

Yobo explained that reaching the century mark takes real discipline, given how competitive it is to hold down a place in the national team over such a long period.

"First of all, it is your commitment to your craft, which is the skill set that you have as a professional footballer," he said. "You have to act like one because in this line of career, we see people that are not so disciplined. It takes a disciplined player to perform well, and it takes a player who is performing well for the coaches to always pick that player. Football is very competitive. So you can't maintain the same standard and the same form for a long time without having competition."

All four Nigeria centurions have played over a decade for the country, and Yobo says that requires making yourself available no matter the opponent or circumstances. He knows this well himself, having played for Nigeria for more than ten years, featuring at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 World Cups and six AFCON tournaments. He captained Nigeria to the 2013 AFCON title and became the country's first player to reach 100 caps before retiring from international football after the 2014 World Cup.

Yobo said things were often complicated in his own playing days by tension between European clubs and African national teams, especially around AFCON call ups.

"In my generation it was always difficult, where sometimes certain people tried to come in between, to make you not honour your national team, and then you had to make a decision," he said. "For people like myself, we always made the decision to play for the national team regardless of what happened. Even if you came back and sat on the bench, we didn't care. We made that sacrifice for the national team."

Since his debut, Iwobi has remained a fixture under several different Nigeria coaches, playing at the 2018 World Cup and multiple AFCON tournaments. His goal against Zambia in October 2017 sealed Nigeria's qualification for the 2018 World Cup, one of the standout moments of his career so far.

Reflecting on reaching 100 caps, Iwobi said: "A hundred caps for Nigeria is not easy, but I am grateful to say I am one of four to have made it here."

Meanwhile, Paris FC forward Moses Simon, who is on 99 caps and also in the squad for the upcoming qualifiers, could become Nigeria's fifth centurion if he features. Yobo believes that milestone deserves proper recognition when it comes.

"Trust me, it's a great achievement," he said. "I'm congratulating him ahead. It's a great milestone to achieve. Maybe the next home game, maybe we can get together. You just never know. But it's something that is worth celebrating, even from the officials of the NFF so that the younger ones coming up know that if you get to this certain level, you'll be honoured differently."