Emmanuel Okala, a former goalkeeper for the Green Eagles and winner of the 1980 African Cup of Nations Cup, has pinpointed the recent struggles of Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho, and placed the responsibility on the team’s goalkeeper trainers, according to Soccernet.ng.
Uzoho faced significant criticism for his subpar performance during Nigeria’s recent friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.
During the match against Saudi Arabia, the Omonia Nicosia goalkeeper mishandled a direct free-kick, inadvertently pushing it into his own net, allowing Saudi Arabia to take the lead. While the Super Eagles managed to salvage a 2-2 draw against the Green Falcons, the spotlight fell on Uzoho’s error.
Emmanuel Okala stressed that it would be unjust to solely blame Uzoho for the team’s draw against Saudi Arabia and instead pointed to the Super Eagles’ goalkeeper trainer. He stated, “The goalkeeper’s trainer in the Super Eagles seems not to be doing his job well. He should be the one to take the blame, not Uzoho.”
Okala emphasized the importance of proper training, mentioning, “As a goalkeeper trainer, you have a responsibility to train your keepers on how to deal with set pieces, including free kicks, and how they should position themselves and arrange their defense line.”
He also expressed his concern, highlighting that some of the issues observed during matches were areas left unattended during training.
While Francis Uzoho acknowledged his mistake in the friendly against Saudi Arabia, admitting that his error had favored the opponent, he called on fans to continue supporting him, underlining the challenges that come with his crucial position. He said, “You can make ten saves and control your area well, but just one mistake, people will forget all that.”
In their most recent friendly against Mozambique, Uzoho’s performance once again came under scrutiny as he allowed a seemingly simple shot to slip past him into the net. Nevertheless, the Super Eagles managed to rally and secured a 3-2 victory, marking their first friendly win since 2019.