October 07, (THEWILL) – During a pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr was critical of Maduka Okoye, a day before the Super Eagles face the Central African Republic (CAR) in a Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Due to his late arrival in camp, the Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper was in danger of losing his place in the Super Eagles starting XI, as Rohr questioned his professionalism and devotion to the national team’s cause after missing his trip to Lagos.
THEWILL recalls that Okoye has been a regular in the Super Eagles first XI, starting all but one of their last ten games, but he could be forced to sit on the bench for the first time since November 17, 2019.
Rohr alluded to this when he said: “The late arrival of Maduka, he arrived in the night only. He missed his flight, I am not happy about it, it’s not professional. I am not sure that he will start the game, we have two other goalkeepers.
“Everybody believes that it will be an easy victory, it’s not an easy match and when players are arriving late like this it is not helping us when we say we have to be serious. He did one training session this morning in the gym, then he will do another training session this afternoon.
“I spoke with him, he knows that it is not good, they were trying to have a good flight for him to come early he missed it. They have to learn to be really serious when they come to the national team.”
Okoye made his senior debut for the Super Eagles in an international friendly against Brazil in October 2019, and he is the youngest of the three goalkeepers chosen in the 23-man squad.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.