If you face me in penalty shootouts it’s finished – Super Eagles goalkeeper, Nwabali brags

Nigeria beat South Africa in a spot shootout at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Stanley Nwabali said that South African players looked scared during the shootout.

There were penalties for Teboho Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa, but the Super Eagles goalie saved them both. The game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.

A lot of people were talking about Ronwen Williams, the Bafana Bafana goalie, before the game. He had just saved four penalties against Cape Verde to help South Africa make it to the last four.

Nwabali, on the other hand, was sure that Nigeria would win if the game went to penalties. The 27-year-old said that his coaches have faith in his ability to save penalties.

Speaking with FARPost, Nwabali said; “When we went to penalty shootouts against South Africa, my coaches said Nigeria were going to win because they know me.

“People didn’t know me. Only a few teams in South Africa knew that when you go to penalty shootouts against Stanley, it’s gone. You’re finished; just forget about the game. 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.

“So, these teams like Polokwane, Sekhukhune, Stellenbosch, they know that if you go to penalties with me, it’s finished. I’m not praising myself, I always want to keep quiet because I know what I can do.”