Aribo to record the most appearances this season if he starts against Sao Tome & Principe
Rangers and Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo is looking to edge Guatemalan midfielder Stheven Robles and Liverpool forward Luis Diaz to the record of the most appearances if he plays against Sao Tome & Principe on Monday.
The Rangers midfielder has already racked up 70 appearances for club and country since the start of the 2021/22 season but is under stiff competition from Robles.
Aribo has been an ever-present for both the Super Eagles and the Giovanni van Bronckhorst-led Rangers this season as seen in the number of appearances he has racked up.
Aribo has played a whopping 5481 minutes of football during the 2021/22 season but is closely followed by Robles' 5382 minutes while Liverpool's Diaz has tallied 5184 minutes in the same time.
The Super Eagles star played his 70th game of the season when he lined out against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone at the Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja on Friday, June 9.
That was Aribo's 13th match for the national team this season, having played seven (7) matches in the World Cup Qualifying series, three (3) matches at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021, and two (2) friendly matches against Mexico and Ecuador.
Robles, who plays in the top-tier Guatemalan league for Comunicaciones, is just one match behind Aribo having played 69 matches so far in the 2021/22 season.
Robles has featured 58 times for his club this season spanning the Guatemalan league, the CONCACAF League, the CONCACAF Champions League, and the League's playoffs.
The 26-year-old has also made 11 appearances for the Guatemalan senior national team, mostly in the Gold Cup (5 - qualification and finals), the CONCACAF Nations League (3), and international friendlies (3).
Both players have just one match left in the 2021/22 season with the Super Eagles of Nigeria set to face Sao Tome & Principe on Monday, June 13 in the AFCON 2023 qualifying series.
Guatemala are also scheduled to take on the Dominican Republic barely 11 hours later for their Matchday 4 fixture of the ongoing CONCACAF Nations League.
Aribo needs to feature against Sao Tome & Principe to take his appearances to 71 and keep his record intact as Robles will be bearing down the Nigerian's neck with an expected appearance against the Dominican Republic.