AFCON qualifiers: Super Eagles Coach confirms Okoye as first choice

The Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr has confirmed Sparta Rotterdam’s Maduka Okoye as his first choice goalkeeper ahead of South Africa-based Daniel Akpeyi and APOEL FC’s Francis Uzoho.

The Eagles are billed to face Benin in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on March 22, before welcoming Lesotho to the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos for their final group game on March 30.

With few days left for the release of his 23-man squad for the qualifiers, the Franco-German said the Sparta Rotterdam shot-stopper would be the first choice going into those set of matches.

“No. 1 is Maduka…These decisions, I take them with goalkeeper coach Alloy Agu because he is a specialist for goalkeeper training.

“I and Alloy, we agreed that it’s actually Maduka. We have the experienced Daniel Akpeyi doing good matches with his club in South Africa.

“We have the young Francis Uzoho coming back after injury, but he has to play also now, not only on the bench. We have also Matthew Yakubu. There’s a good potential now because this position was a big problem for us, so we have more now,” Rohr told said.

Okoye, who has kept five clean sheets in 15 appearances for Dutch side Rotterdam, was in goal in the Eagles’ 4-4 stalemate against Sierra Leone in Benin City in their last AFCON qualifiers last November.

“You cannot drop a player because you say he plays one bad game

“It is bad for his confidence,” Rohr added.

NP/Mercy Chukwudiebere