More goalkeeping problems for Nigeria ahead of Sierra Leone clash

Francis Uzoho's errors keep costing the Super Eagles (Credit: IMAGO/Shengolpixs)

More goalkeeping problems for Nigeria ahead of Sierra Leone clash

Faruq Ibrahim 15:49 - 28.03.2023

The Super Eagles are set to be without their two main goalkeepers for the game against Sierra Leone.

The goalkeeper position is a famously problematic position for the Super Eagles, and their woes have now been further compounded, with first-choice goalkeeper Francis Uzoho ruled out of their next AFCON qualifier clashes against Sierra Leone. 

The 24-year-old Omonia Nicosia man was in goal for all four of Nigeria's previous qualifiers, but Jose Peseiro will have to find other solutions in the next game, as the goalkeeper is suspended.  

Why Uzoho is suspended

During the first game of the qualifying campaign against Sierra Leone, the Super Eagles shot-stopper received a yellow card in the 86th minute for time wasting, when he attempted to run down the clock to preserve Nigeria's 2-1 scoreline.  

Super Eagles goalkeeper Francis Uzoho
Super Eagles goalkeeper Francis Uzoho

Yesterday, in the 1-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau, the man between the sticks for Nigeria was penalised for the same offence, time-wasting. The goalkeeper was shown yellow in the 92nd minute of the game, meaning he has seen the caution card twice during the qualifying campaign. 

Two yellow cards lead to a suspension, meaning the former APOEL Nicosia man will be unavailable for selection to Peseiro when they line up against Leone Stars in the next international break.

Goalkeeping headache for Peseiro

The absence of Francis from the next qualifying game presents a fresh set of headaches for Peseiro who missed a chance to open a comfortable margin at the top of Group A.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

The other two goalkeepers who were at the last AFCON for the Super Eagles, Maduka Okoye and Daniel Akpeyi have not been playing regularly for their club sides. 

Tags: