AFCON: Super Eagles in tough search for number one goalkeeper

<p>The Super Eagles of Nigeria continue to battle with goalkeeper instability ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, in Ivory Coast.</p>, <p>Before now, Nigeria had some of the best goalkeepers in Africa such as Peter Rufai, Best Ogedengbe, Ike Shorunmu, Alloy Agu and Vincent Enyeama.</p>, <p>DAILY POST reports that these goalkeepers dominated for years during their professional career.</p>, <p>For example, Enyeama had been the undisputed number one goalkeeper for the Super Eagles for over a decade before he retired from the game back in 2015.</p>, <p>Ever since his retirement, the Super Eagles is yet to have a trusted first-choice goalkeeper.</p>, <p>Nigeria has tried close to a dozen of goalkeepers such as Dele Alampasu, Oladele Ajiboye, Daniel Akpeyi, Carl Ikeme, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho since Enyeama hung his glove.</p>, <p>But none has so far been able to occupy special places in the hearts of the Super Eagles supporters or Nigerian football folklore.</p>, <p>Yet the problem has not been fixed. In fact, it’s getting increasingly bad and worrisome as the 2023 AFCON draws closer.</p>, <p>DAILY POST reports that the current goalkeepers recently invited by the Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro for their recent international friendly games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique were Uzoho, who currently plays for Cyprus side Omonia, Enyimba’s Olorunleke Ojo, Hapoel Jerusalem’s Adebayo Adeleye and Okoye, who currently plays for Udinese.</p>, <p>The 2023 AFCON final draw was held recently and the Super Eagles were drawn alongside host Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.</p>, <p>However, no team can boast of its readiness to win the AFCON with a poor goalkeeping department.</p>, <p>At the moment, the current Super Eagles have the worst goalkeeping challenge in the history of the Nigerian senior national football team.</p>, <p>Some Nigerians still blame the Super Eagles failure at the 2019 AFCON on goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi.</p>, <p>They believed that the former Manchest