Super Eagles: What Okoye must do to bench Nwabali for Tanzania AFCON qualifiers

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle faces a key decision as the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Tanzania draw closer. He has to decide whether to stick with Chippa United goalie Stanley Nwabali as his first choice or bench him in favour of Maduka Okoye.

​When Nwabali took a break from football earlier this year, Okoye stepped up and manned the sticks for three games, and he was impressive. Two performances in particular — against Poland and Portugal — caught the eye.

​He produced top performances in those games, and the general belief was that he would become the first-choice goalkeeper, even if Nwabali returned to the side.

​However, that was not the case, as in the first two games of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, Nwabali was the one who manned the sticks. Although he did well in the first game against Madagascar, he struggled in his second game against Guinea-Bissau. That has raised questions about his place ahead of the double-header against Tanzania later this month.

​Ahead of those games, Afrik-Foot examines three things Okoye must do to become Chelle’s number 1 goalie.

​What Maduka Okoye Must Do To Become Super Eagles No. 1

​To many Nigerians, Maduka Okoye deserves to be the Super Eagles’ number 1, and they have a good argument. He plays for Udinese in Serie A, unlike Nwabali, who plays for a side that always finishes in the bottom half of the South African Premier League. Unfortunately for Nwabali, his display against Guinea-Bissau did not help his case.

Maduka Okoye with a stunning penalty save vs Parma in the Italian Serie A! He also won Man of the match. The international break is coming👀🇳🇬 #ParmaUdinese #supereagles https://t.co/SEawwpZ0Nf

— Biobelemoye🇲🇼🇳🇬 (@Ikio_Annabel) October 29, 2026

​But the Udinese man has not exactly covered himself in glory. In the last international break, he was the last player to arrive in camp. The reason was that he had a club assignment to attend to during the international break. The fact that he was seen with Cardi B also made the optics look bad.

​In the end, he arrived in camp on the eve of matchday, and there was no way he could play. Although Okoye had permission to join camp late, it would appear that he was not expected to be that late.

​For a player who is battling to become Nigeria’s number 1, being the last player to arrive in camp does not show seriousness, especially when his competition was in camp from day one.

​If Okoye wants to earn the number 1 shirt, he has to show commitment and passion for the team. He has to always arrive in camp early and perform well in training.

​The former Sparta Rotterdam man must also continue to prove beyond any doubt that he deserves the shirt. He has to keep performing well at Udinese and show that he is the better option.