Stanley Nwabali’s rise from obscurity to Super Eagles hero

Stanley Nwabali shows off his man of the match award after Nigeria eliminated South Africa from the AFCON. Photo: AFP

No one would have thought a few months ago that Stanley Nwabali would even make the Super Eagles squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) taking place in the Ivory Coast.

Fast forward to February 2024 and the Chippa United of South Africa goalkeeper has played a pivotal role in helping Nigeria make it into the final of AFCON 2023 scheduled for Sunday.

Nwabili was certainly the dark horse in the race for Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper spot despite his brilliant performances for Chippa United in the South African Premier Soccer League.

He is known for his proficiency with his feet and solid shot-stopping abilities and has a good record of keeping seven clean sheets while conceding only 14 goals in 15 league games this season.

Despite all those stats, a few Nigerian fans were quite sceptical when Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, while naming his final 25-man squad list for AFCON 2023, hinted that Nwabali would be his first-choice goalkeeper.

Francis Uzoho was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper prior to AFCON 2023. Photo: AFP

Some other Nigerian football fans had, however, expected Nwabili to take over as the number one goalkeeper for the Super Eagles following Peseiro’s decision to travel to South Africa to watch him live in action for his club.

That was particularly due to the comical goalkeeping exhibited by Francis Uzoho of Cyprus’ Omonia Nicosia who no longer had a stranglehold on the Super Eagles’ first-choice spot following a drop in form, especially for Nigeria.

However, since Peseiro became the Super Eagles’ manager in 2022, Uzoho had been his first-choice goalie, barring a suspension-induced