Stanley Nwabali: In defence of embattled Super Eagles goalkeeper

In what should have been a routine win on Friday, Stanley Nwabali, the Super Eagles no.1 for close to two years, managed to make himself the main topic of conversation.

With Nigeria leading 2-0 going into the home straight, the mood among fans was of relief. It had not been the most fluent display against Lesotho but, as one might recall, part of the imperative in this window was to score as many as possible, as that could become important in the reckoning of best second-placed teams. Two, while not a bucket load, is better than one.

And then Nwabali laid, not one, but two eggs, almost turning a 2-0 win into a 2-2 draw.

It might actually be reductive to focus solely on those two incidents. His kicking through the match had, in truth, been iffy. However, his error for Lesotho's goal was far more blatant in its repercussion; the brain fart that almost gifted the ‘hosts' an equaliser at the death was downright criminal.

Should Super Eagles drop Nwabali for Benin cracker?

The reaction to Nwabali following that 2-1 win over Lesotho has been merciless. Justifiably so, as the bumbling nature of his gaffes, and their effect – present and potential – left a lot to be desired. His attempt to blame, in turn, Akor Adams and Semi Ajayi for his indiscretions only served to make him appear even lamer: if a goalkeeper cannot reliably field a lofted ball unless there is no movement at all in his vicinity, then he might as well hang it up. 

Still, we can acknowledge that, criticise him, and still keep things in some sort of perspective. No, he should not be dropped immediately. The Super Eagles meeting with Benin on Tuesday is the single most important Nigeria match since the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, and making such a seismic call for it could introduce needless instability in a pivotal moment.

It would also be an overreaction. This is not, as some think, a case of a previously infallible  goalkeeper suddenly going off the boil. Nwabali has a number of errors to his name, some punished (Ivory Coast’s equaliser in the aforementioned AFCON final, and Benin’s equaliser in the Super Eagles’ 2-1 defeat earlier in  the qualifying series are two that spring to mind readily), many unpunished. The impression that his ego may be getting the better of him probably has some merit but, lest we forget, it was precisely his confidence and assertiveness that won him the starting spot in the first place. If that has now gone too far, it is unfortunate, but it just highlights his humanity.

It is this that everyone would do well to remember. This is a human being; not just that, but one who lost both his parents inside the last 12 months, one within two months of the other. That is a crushing blow, from which no one has any idea if he has recovered. And while he has always been brash and erratic, it is perhaps telling that he has been increasingly so in 2025 – grabbing his Chippa United teammates by the shorts to remonstrate, picking a fight with the Rwandans in Uyo, wildly inciting the opposition in the PSL, and now being seemingly unable to keep his eye on the ball. 

The more cynical will wave this away, but it bears some consideration. Clearly, he is not in the right mental headspace, and while boiling it down to a big head fits the convenient theme of complacency that too many are happy to run with as pertains to this current Super Eagles crop, it is just as likely that this is a man lashing out at the world as a means to silence his own internal anguish.

Does it inoculate him against censure forever? Hardly. But if, with some personal justification, he has lost his head, it behooves us to not, in concert, lose ours.