Interim head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen says the decision on who will start in goal against Benin Republic between Maduka Okoye and Stanley Nwabali is giving him headache, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Okoye lost his number one spot two years ago with Nwabali displacing Francis Uzoho to become the team’s starting goalkeeper at the AFCON. A position he has held even after the tournament, where Nigeria went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire.
Coming into today’s AFCON qualifiers game against Benin Republic in Uyo, Okoye pushed his case to reclaim his spot with a string of impressive performances for Italian Serie A side Udinese. He still remains the only Nigerian goalkeeper getting regular run of games in a top five European League.
Eguavoen was asked if the form of Okoye is forcing him into thinking about reinstated him as number 1, the coach said it’s a welcome headache not just for the duo but the entire team due to the presence of quality players in all positions.
“The headache in the entire team. 23 quality players, some quality players that are also not in the team right now.
“So, it is headache for the coach but the good thing is that they are all fit and we can always play with 11, the required number of players and the good thing is that the players also know that.”
Ade Emmanuel
