Rise of a Football God-Chapter 365 : Joining the squad

With another impressive performance against Leganes though Raphinha won the man of the match award, Sam was able to further add to his incredible goals and assists tally for the season.

His stats now looked like this halfway into the season.

[Samuel Moses=]

[No. 40]

*Goals: 31

*Assists: 17

*Games: 21

In just 21 games this season, Sam already racked up an incredible 31 goals and 17 assists, forming an astonishing combined total of 48 goal contributions.

In the 2025/2026 season, he seemed to finally realize his full potential; he was putting out all-time great numbers this campaign.

But personally, for Sam, after another impressive game against Leganes for FC Barcelona, that was the end of his club football for the year 2025.

A tough game against Atletico Madrid was coming up, a game that FC Barcelona fans attached a lot of importance though but unfortunately, Sam would be unavailable for that game.

In his absence, FC Barcelona did not have a reliable striker, Ferran Torres and Pau Victor being makeshift options.

Hansi Flick would have to find a way around it though.

One thing the fans didn't like was the prospect of breaking their unbeaten streak so far, but Sam didn't' think about it much.

This was because even if FC Barcelona's unbeaten streak was broken by Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona's lead at the top of the La Liga table would still be firm and imperious, hence no dangers for the club.

This was why after the game against Leganes, during the post-match interview, Hansi Flick finally told the fans of Sam's decision. He took his time to explain how much the AFCON tournament was to Africans.

Despite the fact that Hansi Flick's argument was convincing, the fans still had mixed reactions, some selfish ones not wanting Sam to leave at all.

None of their opinions mattered though.

This was because just 2 days after the Leganes game, on 17th December, Sam left Spain, connecting with the Nigerian squad which was already gathered in Nigeria preparing for the trip for the 2025 AFCON tournament.

Sam joined the squad.

…

Rabat, Morrocco…

In the capital city of Morrocco, the days leading up to the AFCON tournament in the host country was electric with anticipation.

Streets were adorned with colorful banners, massive billboards displaying the faces of African football legends, and fans flooded airports, hotels, and training ground just to catch a glimpse of their national heroes.

This was because this period, the national teams participating in the tournament were beginning to report to Morrocco one after the other.

Across the streets, vendors sell jerseys, scarves, and vuvuzelas, while radio stations and television broadcasts were filled with tactical debates, squad analysis, and game predictions of the group stage tournament.

Which countries would progress from the group stage?

Which would be eliminated?

And which country would go all the way to win the AFCON tournament?

As Nigeria's squad arrives, excitement reaches a fever pitch. Then comes the moment everyone has been waiting for, the arrival of the Nigerian superstar.

Right there at the airport, hundreds of fans in the white and green of Nigeria were gathered, waving banners of a certain Nigerian football star, Samuel Moses.

The rising star and new leader of the Nigerian national football team.

The plan touched down to a sea of fans, chanting his name, waving flags, and setting off fireworks.

Security struggled to control the euphoric crowd as Sam stepped out clad in designer tracksuits, sunglasses, and headphones, exuding confidence.

Not just fans; at this moment, journalists also scrambled for quotes.

But Sam simply smiled and waved, focused on the task ahead as he moved with his teammates. Soon, they join the others at their high-end training facility, where new teammates embraced him like a long-lost brother.

During the last Nigerian game, Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface, the star Nigerian strikers were absent, giving Sam the opportunity to play as the striker.

And now, with their return, they laughed and socialized with Sam.

Sam may just be 20 but they didn't look down on him, they've watch his game enough to know exactly what he could do and they respected him for it.

It didn't take long, Eric Chelle quickly taking over control of his team.

The coach gave his players time to rest, recover from the jet lag and immediately after, he plunged them straight into training.

The players responded with gusto.

Winning the AFCON tournament was a life dream of every single one of them, as they wanted to replicate the legend of old Nigerian stars like Austin JJ Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo and the likes who all won the tournament as their predecessors.

The last time, back in 2023, they made it all the way to the final only to stumble at the final step, losing to the hosts, Ivory Coast.

That heartbreak taught them a lesson, making them stronger, more resilient.

And now, they were back stronger and determined to get what they deserved.

This time, nothing would stop them from going all the way.

This time, they wanted to create history.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Under Eric Chelle's leadership, training intensified with cameras focused, capturing every move of the stars, especially focusing on Sam in training.

They captured everything; his crisp passed, thunderous shots, and commanding presence. The team, now complete looked sharper, hungrier.

And most importantly, they were led by an equally hungry coach.

Unlike the previous Nigerian coach who prepared a highly talented Nigerian squad to play defensive football, Eric Chelle was far bolder, taking an approach that the Nigerian predecessors who won the AFCON title used…, offensive football.

With the likes of Samuel Moses, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, and others all available for him in attack, he would not make the same mistake as his predecessor to favor a defensive football style.

Eric Chelle preached offensive football to his players.

The host nation's air buzzed with tension and excitement as all the national teams arrived, training, locking in for the ultimate tournament.

Rival teams took notice of each other, especially Nigeria.

Afterall, they were tipped as one of the favorites this time.

And they were right. This time, Nigeria wasn't just here to participate, they've come to conquer.

And Samuel Moses was the head leading this Tiger.