My friend and colleague, Desmond Ekwueme is fast turning into a seer. Why do I say so? Twenty-four hours before the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, he wrote a piece with the title, ‘Lifeline for Maduka Okoye’. Patrick Omorodion
Okoye is Super Eagles’ second goalkeeper who walked out on the team, alleging threat to his life by fans following his disappointing performance at the last AFCON in Cameroon. His invitation also followed a lacklustre performance by the number one choice, Francis Uzoho at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt as well as the crucial World Cup qualifier against Ghana in Abuja which the Super Eagles lost and missed out of the first World Cup in the Middle East, in Qatar.
So when Coach Jose Peseiro invited Okoye to be part of the two friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique, Ekwueme said that “he has the opportunity to right his wrong, impress all and prove that he is still needed in the team especially as we approach AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire and 2026 World Cup qualifiers.” And Ekwueme might just be right as Uzoho once again proved that he can’t fit into the ‘large shoes’ Vincent Enyeama left since he retired from the Super Eagles.
His howler was blamed for the first goal the Super Eagles conceded against Saudi Arabia during last Friday’s friendly match which ended 2-2. With Uzoho disappointing against the Saudis, Peseiro may introduce Okoye against Mozambique in their second friendly match tomorrow as he continues to tinker with the chemistry of his team preparatory to the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire in January. And he must be fast about picking the goalkeepers he will use to prosecute the competition holding in the same country where Nigeria became the toast of Ivorians in the city of Bouake about 40 years ago.
Back then, the Green Eagles, as the team were known, were not in the same group with the host, Cote d’Ivoire. This time around, they have been drawn in the same Group A with them and therefore need to be solid in the goalkeeping area which is proving the team’s Achilles heel these days. Good a thing, the Super Eagles are opening their AFCON campaign with Equatorial Guinea before meeting Cote d’Ivoire and lastly Guinea-Bissau, another team that is proving too difficult for Peseiro’s side.
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In 1984, the Eagles opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory over perennial rivals, Black Stars of Ghana, drew 2-2 surprisingly with Malawi and played out a barren draw with Algeria. As host back then, the Elephants couldn’t win the trophy as they crashed out in the semi finals. They have won the AFCON twice, in 1992 and 2015, but not on home soil. This time around they will be aiming to join countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tunisia and South Africa who have lifted the trophy on home soil so they will put up very strong resistance beginning from the group stage.
Already Ivorian legend, Didier Drogba has described the Super Eagles as a formidable team that could prove a stumbling block for the Elephants. He, however, believes that with home support, they may overcome the Nigerian side. While the Super Eagles are aiming for their fourth title, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire will attempt to equal Nigeria with a third title.
If Cote d’Ivoire fail to win their opening match against Equatorial Guinea and the Super Eagles do same against Guinea-Bissau, then their second group game against Nigeria would certainly prove a difficult one as they may go all out to win in order to top the group and remain in Abidjan to play at the traditional home ground at the Houphouet Boigny Stadium. In 2006 in Egypt, a Drogba inspired Elephants stopped Nigeria 1-0 in the semi-finals and two years later in Ghana, they beat the Super Eagles 1-0 again.
However, on their way to winning their third title in South Africa in 2013, the Stephen Keshi-tutored side dismissed the Ivorians 2-1 in the semi-finals. How will the Super Eagles fare in the 2023 AFCON that will hold in 2024 with the goalkeeping nightmares the country is facing now? With the howler of Uzoho against Saudi Arabia on Friday some Nigerians are asking questions about the goalkeeping department. And again Ekwueme is in a quandary why a good former home-based goalkeeper, John Noble who shone with Enyimba Football Club before joining the foreign legion in Tanzania should be shut out from the national team.
According to Ekwueme, Noble could have been blacklisted because he asked for his entitlements after his invitation to the team for Qatar World Cup qualifying campaign. “He has won best stopper in the Tanzania top league thrice since joining Tabora United and has remained the club’s first choice goalkeeper. Ask football stakeholders in Tanzania and they will tell you the Nigerian is the best goalkeeper in their league presently.
At a time like this when Super Eagles obviously lack quality goalkeepers, wouldn’t it be wise for this goalkeeper to be recalled into the team? Arguably, none of the goalkeepers in the team at the moment is better than Noble,” he said. As the sports journalist lamented on Facebook that Uzoho is like Andre Onana, the Cameroonian goalkeeper with Manchester United, a fan said that he watched the game on a Ghana television station and the commentator said,”Uzoho with the double calamity once again, the same calamity that stopped Nigeria from going to the World Cup”.
Wow that’s good
Great