Former Africa Cup of Nations winner Mutiu Adepoju believes Stanley Nwabali has what it takes to become one of the best goalkeepers in Super Eagles history.
The Nigeria national team boasts a wide range of superstars who are playing in the biggest leagues in world football. There are Premier League starters like Ola Aina and Alex Iwobi, Serie A talents like Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman, as well as blockbuster superstar Victor Osimhen.
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And in goal, there is a player who, despite being born and raised in Nigeria, is waving the flag high for South Africa’s Premier Soccer League: Stanley Nwabili.
Born in Port Harcourt, Nwabali bounced around various Nigerian clubs before joining Chippa United in 2022. Whilst he made his Nigeria debut on July 4, 2021 in a 4-0 defeat to Mexico, he’d have to wait nearly three more years before returning to the national team set-up.
Then-manager José Peseiro called him up for the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, with Nwabili being given his competitive debut in a 1-1 draw vs. Equatorial Guinea.
The goalkeeper spot had often been a problematic position for the Super Eagles, with neither Francis Uzoho and Maduka Okoye managing to convince between the sticks, but with Nwabali, Nigeria fans could finally relax and count on their goalkeeper.
Nigeria won their next four matches vs. Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon and Angola before facing off against South Africa in the semi-final. Nwabali stole the show by saving two penalties in the penalty shootout, but he wasn’t able to lead them to victory in the final, with the Ivory Coast achieving a comeback win. Nevertheless, Nwabali proved his merits as Nigeria’s #1 goalkeeper, and he hasn’t looked back since then.
“Stanley Nwabali has been doing very well all this while, and he has what it takes to be one of the best goalkeepers in the history of the national team,” stated Nigeria legend Mutiu Adepoju, who led Nigeria to their first-ever World Cup in 1994 and won the AFCON that same year.
“If he continues this level of performance, he will end up as one of the best goalkeepers that Nigeria has ever had.”
Nwabali has continued his stellar performances for club and country, conceding just two goals in his last five matches for Chippa United.
He has kept eight clean sheets and is making a league-high 3.8 saves per match, and he is also the third-highest rated player of the 2024/25 season (according to Sofascore), with only Relebohile Mofokeng and Lucas Ribeiro boasting a higher average rating.
At 28, there can be no doubt: Nwabali is one of the best goalkeepers in Africa.
