The dreams of many Nigerians for the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro to call a new goalkeeper to the team ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations next year have been dealt a huge blow, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Many names have been suggested as possible upgrade to current first choice Francis Uzoho, who hasn’t shown enough to own the position with errors which has cost the team dearly. Most recently he was at fault for the goals conceded in the friendly games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique respectively.
Despite that Peseiro has faith in the Omonia Nicosia goalkeeper believing that his recent errors are due to a lack of confidence and nothing related to his abilities as a goalkeeper. He also feels the pressure to do well out of fear of a backlash from the Nigerian public has also not helped the 24 year old to be at his best.
” A decision has been made already and Uzoho will be the first choice at the AFCON. It is something that is beyond his recent performances. Peseiro sees him as the best among the options we have and feels the recent blunders are related to a confidence crisis while in goal for Nigeria”, a team source told OwnGoalNigeria.com.
” Again when you consider that there won’t be space to try a new goalkeeper as from now till the AFCON, all games will be competitive because the World Cup qualifiers and the AFCON will happen between now and the start of next year. You have to agree with Peseiro that there is no urgent need for a new goalkeeper”, he concluded.
Ade Emmanuel