Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro has thanked DStv Premiership club Chippa United for goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, who inspired the Super Eagles to a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final victory over Bafana Bafana.
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The 27-year-old made two saves during the Super Eagles' 4-2 penalty shootout win over South Africa late on Wednesday night, in what was only his eighth appearance for his country.
Nwabali made his international debut in a 4-0 defeat to Mexico back in 2021, and had to wait until January this year for his second cap, but has started in all six of Nigeria's AFCON games in the Ivory Coast.
Speaking after his team defeated Hugo Broos' Bafana on penalties to advance to the final, Portuguese manager Peseiro said he personally visited South Africa to take a closer look at Nwabali.
"I believe in all my goalkeepers. Ojo Olorunleke, Stanley Nwabali, and Francis Uzoho," he said, according to ACLSports.
"I asked my friends in SA about Nwabali, and I went there to check on him. Thanks to Chippa United.
"Nwabali has the quality to be in goal, and he came in to fight for the No. 1 shirt with Uzoho and Ojo, and he's done that."
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Nigeria will take on host nation Ivory Coast in the final of the competition on Sunday at 22:00, while South Africa will play DR Congo in a third-place play-off on Saturday.
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