Mohammed Kudus Discloses How Messi Inspired His Incredible Solo Goal Against Freiburg

• Mohammed Kudus has disclosed the inspiration behind his solo goal against Freiburg
• The Ghana star scored a brace as West Ham reached the last 8 of the Europa League
• Kudus missed Ghana's international friendlies against Nigeria and Uganda in March

Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus has opened up on his Messi-esque goal in the Europa League for West Ham United against Freiburg.

The 23-year-old weaved his way past four players from his own half before finishing with his weaker foot as the Hammers thrashed the Bundesliga side to progress to the quarter-finals of the European competition.

Kudus has been in fine form since moving to West Ham last summer, scoring 11 goals across all competitions as the Hammers continue their pursuit of European glory.

The former Ajax midfielder's strike against Freiburg is worthy of a Puskas nomination and it is no surprise the Ghanaian picked a leaf from Lionel Messi's books to execute the goal.

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“No, no … I watched Messi do that a lot so, doing it one time, it’s in my books! When I took the ball I didn’t think I was going all the way to goal. But it was getting closer and closer and after the last defender I was thinking: ‘Yeah, I have to score this’. If I didn’t score that … nah. I’m glad I calmly finished it off," he told The Guardian.

West Ham will face Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Meanwhile, Kudus is expected to return to action for West Ham against Newcastle United after missing the international break due to a shoulder injury, as reported by Ghana Soccernet.

Kudus pulls out of Ghana friendlies

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Mohammed Kudus withdrew from the Black Stars team for the international friendlies against Nigeria and Uganda.

Mohammed Kudus: West Ham United Star Pulls Out of Ghana's Friendlies Against Nigeria and Uganda

Football

The West Ham United star reportedly picked up a shoulder injury, preventing him from joining the squad for the two games in the March international break.

The Black Stars suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Super Eagles of Nigeria before settling for a 2-2 draw with Uganda in the games held in Morocco.