Nigeria facing potential goalkeeper crisis with Okoye, Uzoho reportedly keen on Super Eagles break

Fan abuse towards the two is blamed for their decision to reportedly withdraw from the squad ahead of the 2023 Afcon qualifiers

Nigeria is staring at a goalkeeper crisis ahead of next month’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations following reports that first-choice custodians Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho have taken a break from international football.

Okoye, who is set to join relegated Premier League side Watford, has enjoyed a good season with Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam with his saves, helping them avoid relegation and there were hopes that the good form will see him return to the Super Eagles fold.

The 22-year-old received abuse from Super Eagles fans after his blunder led to Nigeria getting knocked out of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations following a 1-0 loss to Tunisia in the last 16 in January and he has not represented the Super Eagles since.

According to OwnGoalNigeria.com, this could be one of the reasons he has opted to take a break.

“Okoye wants a break from international football,” the publication quoted a source from the Nigeria Football Federation as saying.

“He hasn’t recovered mentally from the way he was treated after the Super Eagles were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations. He even received death threats and his family members were also not left out.”

Super Eagles fans did not spare Uzoho either, with online abuse directed his way following Nigeria’s elimination by Ghana from the World Cup playoff in March after the Black Stars qualified for the global tournament on away goals.

The two teams had played out a goalless draw in Kumasi before a 1-1 saw in Abuja saw Ghana beat Nigeria to the coveted ticket and a section of fans felt the AC Omonia goalkeeper should have done better to prevent Thomas Partey’s goal.

“In the case of Uzoho, it was felt that he found it hard to recover from that error,” the source was further quoted.

“He was in tears in the second half and did not want to play in the second half. The coaches had to beg him to finish the game. At this stage he is the only one who can say if he is ready to return.”

The two goalkeepers have 34 combined caps for Nigeria (16 for Okoye and 18 for Uzoho), and are still relatively young, the former 22 while the latter is 23.

Uzoho was Nigeria’s first choice for the 2018 World Cup but lost his place during the 2019 Afcon qualifiers following an error against Seychelles.

He would return to the squad during the 2019 Afcon finals in Egypt and kept his place before a knee ligament injury in a friendly match against Brazil in October that year ruled him out for six months.

That is when Okoye was called up by former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr and he kept his place until the 2021 Afcon in Cameroon.

If the two miss out, Nigeria will have to turn to 35-year-old Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, who has been in and out of the team, or Mathew Yakubu, 23, who plays for Slovakia’s Orion Tip Sered for the 2023 Afcon qualifiers which begin against Sierra Leone on June 9.