Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has been warned about the chances of Nigeria winning the Africa Cup of Nations if he keeps Francis Uzoho as first choice goalkeeper of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Uzoho made a costly blunder against Saudi Arabia in the 2-2 friendly draw on Friday. It was the third time in over a year that he has made errors that are unacceptable at this level of football.
His errors have drawn the attention of former Nigeria U23 defeder Mobi Oparaku, who was a part of the team that won the Atlanta 96 Olympic football gold and also played eight games for the Super Eagles, which includes making the team to the 1998 World Cup in France.
” I sounded out this warning in 2019 before the AFCON and it’s sad to see that he is still the same goalkeeper, if not worse. You can’t rely on a goalkeeper who makes basic errors to win a tournament like the AFCON. Uzoho hasn’t improved from 2018 when he made his debut”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.
” Goalkeepers get better with more games and exposure but his case is different. He is regressing, the errors are too basic and I don’t think the other guy ( Maduka Okoye) made as many errors like Uzoho before he was axed. With him in goal, it will be hard if not impossible for Nigeria to win the AFCON next year”.
Osas Mahawi
