Chelle, Ikpeba laud Nwabali heroics after Nigeria win

Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Photo: Super Eagles

Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle and former African Footballer of The Year Victor Ikpeba have praised Stanley Nwabali for his crucial save in Nigeria’s 2-1 comeback win over Madagascar in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.

Nwabali produced an important one-on-one save to deny Madagascar captain Rayan Raveloson early in the second half, keeping Nigeria in the game before Moses Usor completed the comeback with the winning goal.

Chelle singled out the Chippa United goalkeeper for his intervention, which came with Madagascar still holding the lead.

“Nwabali did well because they had a chance to score a goal, but Nwabali at this moment practically was very good,” Chelle said during his post-match press conference.

The coach admitted that the Eagles found it difficult to break down Madagascar’s deep defensive approach and criticised their technical execution.

“So, after that we continue to forward but it was not easy because they put the bus in front of the post,” he said.

“Not bad but not good too. We made the first mistake, that’s why we took a goal. After, we had a lot of chances to score a goal, but we were technically not very good.”

Ikpeba was more emphatic in his assessment of Nwabali, saying he considers the goalkeeper Nigeria’s No. 1 and believes he is better than Udinese’s Maduka Okoye.

“Credit to Nwabali, he’s the number one goalkeeper for the national team. In my opinion, he’s better than Maduka. People at home might disagree, but he’s the number one goalkeeper for the national team,” Ikpeba said on SuperSport.

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The former Monaco striker said Nwabali’s intervention could have changed the outcome of the match, particularly with Nigeria still trailing at that stage.

“He showed that attribute again, the belief, the determination, ‘I’m going to stop the lad’. Yes, the Madagascar attacker should have done better,” Ikpeba added.

“He saved our blushes because in that moment, if it was 2-1, you don’t know what would have been the outcome of this game. The score might have ended 2-2, or we lose 2-1.”

Nwabali’s appearance was his first for Nigeria since he kept four consecutive clean sheets during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Chelle was also pleased with the attitude of his players after they fell behind, praising their determination to fight back and secure the three points.

“They gave everything for the country, and I was very happy because Victor was here,” he said.

“So, it means that this group try to go forward and bring something new. So, I am very happy with the state of mind.”

Nigeria will now turn their attention to Guinea-Bissau as they continue their qualifying campaign.