Nwabali shines as Nigeria beats Madagascar

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 important save in Nigeria’s 2-1 comeback win over Madagascar in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.

Nwabali made a key one-on-one save to stop Madagascar captain Rayan Raveloson early in the second half. His save helped Nigeria stay in the game before Moses Usor scored the winning goal.

Chelle highlighted the Chippa United goalkeeper for his quick action, which came when Madagascar still led the match.

“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 struggled to break through Madagascar’s strong defense and criticized their technical skills.

“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 direct in his praise for Nwabali. He stated that he views the goalkeeper as Nigeria’s top choice and thinks 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.

The former Monaco striker noted that Nwabali’s save could have changed how the match turned out, especially since Nigeria was behind at that point.

“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 clean sheets during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Chelle was also happy with how his players reacted after falling behind. He praised 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 tries to go forward and bring something new. So, I am very happy with the state of mind.”

Nigeria will now focus on Guinea-Bissau as they continue their qualifying campaign.