Nigerian goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye has proved his worth to be the Super Eagles number one goalie after an impressive performance on his debut for Udinese.
The Super Eagles keeper was in inspired form for Udinese in a Coppa Italia clash with Cagliari.
The match ended 1-1 in regulation time, but a late Gianluca Lapadula strike in extra-time won the game for the Gli Isolani.
Okoye was included in the starting lineup for Udinese for the first time since he joined the club in August on a four-year deal from Watford.
The 24-year-old had not played football of any kind since he featured for Watford in an FA Cup game in January which was one of his two appearances in the entirety of last season.
Okoye was deemed worthy of a first start in Udinese colours ahead of the Coppa Italia clash in which he replaced first-choice goalie Marco Silvestri.
The 24-year-old played like a man who had a lot to prove as he prevented Cagliari from scoring in what was a dominant first half for the visitors.
Maduka Okoye made 6 saves at the end of the regulation 90 minutes and was still rated Udinese’s best player despite conceding a late equaliser which forced the game to extra time.
The performance serves as a timely reminder to Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro who has preferred to use the error-prone Francis Uzoho in goal.
This might be his way back into the Super Eagles team for whom he has not made a single appearance since the 2022 AFCON round of 16 loss to Tunisia.
See his stats on his debut for Udinese:
