Picking the first-choice Super Eagles goalkeeper between Stanley Nwabali and Maduka Okoye ahead of the 2026 World Cup playoffs has become a topic given their respective form.
For the first time since Stanley Nwabali broke into the Super Eagles team, he seems to be facing a test of time for the number one shirt.
Recall that Nwabali came into the Super Eagles team before the 2023 AFCON in January 2024, at a time when the men’s senior national team faced a form crisis with its top choice goalkeeper, and the backups weren’t tested enough to get the nod.
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Since the AFCON in Ivory Coast, Nwabali has been unrivalled for Nigeria between the sticks.
But just like the two men before him, the Chippa United keeper is facing criticisms from Nigerians over his reckless antics and mistakes, which could have cost the Super Eagles dearly and dashed their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup, in which they are currently in the playoffs.
In the penultimate game of the series, his mistake led to Lesotho pulling one back, in a game the team needed not to concede and also win by as many goals as possible.
Before then, he had been labelled for unnecessary time wasting and picking up avoidable cautions.
Perhaps things would have been different if he was indeed the undisputed number one of the national team.
But amid his reckless run, another contender for the shirt, Maduka Okoye, returns from a two-month suspension and begins to drop impressive performances for his club, Udinese, in the Serie A.
Interestingly, it comes at a very crucial time, as the Super Eagles regroup for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers playoffs, a second shot at reaching the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Okoye himself hasn’t proved himself again in the national team since his blunder against Tunisia during the round of 16 of the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
After two years away, he was reinvited by Finidi George in May 2024 during the World Cup qualifiers, but hasn’t been able to displace Nwabali.
Away from the national team, the statistics of both players at their clubs also set them apart, although Okoye has played six fewer domestic games than Nwabali.
In 10 matches for Chippa United, Nwabali has only managed one clean sheet and has let in 17 goals. He has also saved 19 of the 33 shots he has faced in the league this season.
On the other hand, Okoye has also conceded six goals for Udinese in four games, keeping one clean sheet as well, while saving 12 of the 18 shots he has faced in the Serie A.
Ahead of the team’s camping in Morocco, where they will play Gabon in the semi-final on Thursday, November 13 and potentially DR Congo or Cameroon in the final three days later, head coach Eric Chelle has thrown his weight behind the Chippa United goalkeeper.
“I need to have a player with character. Maybe sometimes he needs to relax. The reality is Stanley gives everything for his team, teammates, and his country. So sometimes he makes some mistakes, and this is normal, but the reality is he gives everything,” Chelle said in an interview with Eagle FM.
As Nigerians continue their paper picks for man between the sticks, the contention between Nwabali and Okoye is no doubt the competition the team needs in that department.
