AFCON Nwabali deflects hero status onto Nigeria team-mates

 

Joseph Irikefe

 

Stanley Nwabali awarded player-of-the-match, Africa Cup of Nations semifinal between Nigeria and South Africa.

Nigeria’s penalty shootout hero Stanley Nwabali was quick to deflect personal praise onto his teammates after steering the Super Eagles to reach the AFCON final.

Nwabali saved two crucial spotkicks and earned the Man of the Match award as Nigeria edged South Africa 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Bouake on Wednesday night.

Despite earning rave reviews for his shootout excellence, the humble keeper highlighted Nigeria’s team ethic.

“It has been a good team performance throughout this tournament. I really appreciate the management and coaches,” said Nwabali.

The Chippa United stopper praised head coach Jose Peseiro in particular. Nwabali was delighted when Peseiro visited him in South Africa prior to AFCON, calling it a huge motivational factor.

“When the coach informed me he was coming to visit, for me it was one of the biggest things. A coach to come visit was a motivation. When he said he was coming I was really pleased,” Nwabali remarked.

This humility and modesty has endeared Nwabali to Nigerian fans during a fairytale tournament.

His penalty heroics against South Africa will be remembered for generations, etching his name into Nigerian folklore.

Yet for Nwabali, it is all about the team. As Nigeria prepare for the final against Cote d”Ivoire, their unwavering spirit could prove the difference.

Nwabali embodies this spirit, deflecting praise and driving standards higher. “These guys have really guided me a lot throughout this tournament, and I feel so happy,” he said.

This came as the Nigeria head coach, José Peseiro has commended the efforts of the South African team despite beating them to qualify to the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.

The Super Eagles won 4-2 on penalties after an entertaining 120 minutes of football ended 1-1 at the Stade de la Paix.

According to José Peseiro, his players deserved to be in the finals but had to achieve that the hard way.

“The players deserve to be in the finals, it’s a very good victory against a good team. I said it earlier that South Africa has the best of organization because they play together and they created more problems for us. It was very difficult to beat them,” he said after the game.

The Portuguese stressed on the fact South Africa are stronger because of the cohesion between them and also credited Hugo Broos for organizing the squad.

“I think it was very difficult to beat them. Huge congratulations to Hugo Broos, who put this team together. They played well.”