Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has confirmed that he will see of his contract with South African side, Chippa United, before he moves on in his career.
The Nigerian international came to the limelight last year following his heroics at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, which propelled the Super Eagles to the final.
“I would like to be in Europe now. But I have a contract with my current club, who were not prepared to let me go. I have to honour the contract I signed,” Nwabali said after Nigeria forced South Africa to a 1-1 draw in Bloemfontein, in a World Cup qualifier.
The former Enyimba keeper admits that the situation with the Super Eagles in the race to the 2026 World Cup is self-inflicted.
Nigeria are on the verge of missing out on the 2026 Mundial like Qatar 2022, as they are placed third on the table with 11 points behind Benin with 14 points and group leaders South Africa with 17 points.
“We (as a team) should have made more effort to qualify for the World Cup. We left it very late.
“We have an AFCON to prepare for and I hope we take that very seriously. The rest of Africa is coming up and we should not expect easy games on the continent anymore. We must prepare properly if we want to win and qualify for tournaments,” Nwabali said.
The former Wikki Tourists keeper recalled the scenario which occurred during the game against Rwanda in Uyo last weekend, where Tolu Arokodare’s 51st minute’s goal gave the Super Eagles maximum points.
“Yes, I was not in a good mood during that game because of the way some of the Rwandan players were behaving towards me. I was quite upset about it,” he said.
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