Stanley Nwabali: Super Eagles Goalkeeper Recounts Why Nigeria Defeated South Africa at AFCON 2023

• Stanley Nwabali saved two spot-kicks as Nigeria edged South Africa at the 2023 AFCON tournament
• The Super Eagles goalkeeper saved Teboho Kokoena and Evidence Makgopa's efforts in the shootout
• Nwabali stated that it was glaring that the Bafana players were scared to take penalties against him

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has claimed that Bafana Bafana players were scared to take penalties against him at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Eventual runners-up, Nigeria, defeated South Africa in a mouth-watering semi-final clash inside the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.

Nwabali saved spot-kicks from Teboho Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa to propel the three-time champions to the final match of the tournament.

Heading into the fixture, many had expected Ronwen Williams to repeat his quarter-final heroics when he saved four spot kicks against Cape Verde.

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However, Nwabali said he was confident Nigeria would triumph should the encounter proceed to penalties. The Chippa United shot-stopper also added that Bafana Bafana players were scared.

He told FARPost:

"You must give me the man of the match because I will save a lot. A lot of Bafana Bafana guys didn’t know me. But maybe they might have seen in the video analysis or asked questions back in South Africa.

“If you look at the eyes of the Bafana Bafana players, they looked scared. If you watched the game and you look at their eyes when taking a penalty against me, they looked scared.

“So, when you’re not confident enough to stand, I know you’re going to fumble in the penalty. I was not surprised by Mokoena’s miss, and I was not surprised by Makgopa’s miss."

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Kaizer Chiefs pull out of Nwabali race

Sports Brief earlier reported that Chippa United have slammed a heft price tag on Nwabali, forcing rivals Kaizer Chiefs to back out from their ambition of signing the Super Eagles goalkeeper in the summer.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper attracted the interest of several clubs around the globe including teams in Saudi Arabia after starring for Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Kaizer Chiefs who were one of the leading clubs interested in Nwabali have backed out of any deal to sign the Nigerian after Chippa United slammed a whopping R30 million as his price tag.