Joseph Yobo backs Alex Iwobi to break Ahmed Musa's Nigeria appearance record

Former Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo believes Alex Iwobi can push his international career beyond 130 appearances, after becoming only the fourth Super Eagles player to reach 100 caps.

Iwobi reached the landmark against Portugal in June, more than a decade after making his Nigeria debut, joining Yobo, Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa as the only players to make at least 100 appearances for the Nigeria national team.

Musa currently holds the appearance record at 110 but Yobo, who was Nigeria's first centurion, believes the 30-year-old Fulham midfielder has enough time and, more importantly, the commitment to add another 30 or more, barring injury.

"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 hit his 100th appearance in Nigeria's 2-1 friendly defeat to Portugal in Leiria on June 10, and was presented with a commemorative shirt by the NFF before kickoff.

Born in Nigeria but raised in England, the midfielder represented the Three Lions at youth level before switching allegiance to Nigeria and made his senior debut against DR Congo in October 2015.

The midfielder is poised to begin that run to 130 after being 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, giving him an immediate opportunity to begin adding to his century.

With just four players hitting the century mark for Nigeria, Yobo explained that reaching 100 appearances starts with discipline and a commitment to sustaining the standards required to remain in the national team over 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," Yobo 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 centurions played over a decade for Nigeria and Yobo says that sustaining that requires a player making himself available regardless of the opponent, competition or circumstances.

The former Everton star is a good example, playing for Nigeria for more than a decade, appearing at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

He captained the Super Eagles to the 2013 AFCON title and became Nigeria's first player to reach the century mark before ending his international career after the 2014 World Cup.

Yobo said the demands of playing all those games were complicated during his generation by the tension that sometimes existed between European clubs and African national teams, particularly when players had to leave their clubs during the season for AFCON.

"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."

Iwobi has remained a regular through a succession of Nigeria coaches since his debut. He played at the 2018 World Cup and has appeared at multiple Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. His goal against Zambia in October 2017 secured Nigeria's qualification for the 2018 World Cup, one of the defining moments of his international career.

After reaching 100, Iwobi acknowledged how difficult the journey had been: "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 currently sitting on 99 appearances, and is in the squad for these qualifiers, could take the number of centurions to five, if he plays.

And Yobo believes their entry into Nigeria's small group of centurions deserves formal recognition.

"Trust me, it's a great achievement," Yobo 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."