Ahead of the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa, former Nigerian international Alloy Agu believes the duo of Amas Obasogie and Adeleye Adebayo are good enough to replace Stanley Nwabali in the goalpost.
The Chippa United goalkeeper, who has been Nigeria’s first choice since his standout performances at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was forced off in the 35th minute and stretchered out of the game against Richards Bay in the South African Premier Soccer League on Tuesday.
Although Nwabali has been listed in the final cut by head coach Eric Chelle, Agu, in a chat with Brila FM, has advised Nigerians not to panic while banking on Obasogie and Adebayo to get the job done in his absence if he fails to recover quickly for the games.
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“I don’t think we should panic. It’s football, and he has not been ruled out of the game.
“You never can tell — maybe before that game he will get better. So it’s not something we should start panicking about..
“The other goalkeepers are also well capable. They are waiting for their chance to showcase what they have.
“Nigeria should not panic at all. We should keep praying for Stanley so that he can recover quickly. Who says he cannot recover and play? He has done it before, and he can still do it again,” the ex-Kayserispor man concluded.
2 Comments
I wish Nwabali quick recovery. This may even be a blessing in disguise. It’s possible for South Africa players to have studied his weakness but having new keeper in Nigeria goal post may be a blessing.
I agree completely with you @Godsate. The South African players knows him very well and probably know his weaknesses and would exploit it. Only today, Nwabali was in goal for his clubside, Chippa united and he was beaten 3 times in a 3-0 spanking by Orlando Pirates in the SA premier league.
At best we can keep him in goal against Rwanda and then use either Amas Obasogie or Adeleye in goal against the SA Bafana.