Can Nigeria stopper Nwabali restore his reputation against Mozambique?

Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, seen as Nigeria's saviour just two years ago, is now in a desperate battle to regain the trust of Nigerians, after a slide in his performance and ignitable temperament.

The former Go Round FC goalie was heralded as Nigeria's goalkeeping solution after he emerged seemingly from nowhere to fill a hole that looked unpluggable following the self-imposed exile of Maduka Okoye.

Okoye had slipped into the position after a series of errors led to Super Eagles coaches losing faith in Francis Uzoho, and Okoye, at the time with Sparta Rotterdam, impressed during the group stages, allowing just one goal as the Nigerians matched to the knockout stages with three wins out of three.

But the wheels came off that wagon in the round of 16 when Youssef Msakni's speculative, long range effort beat the then 22-year-old, and proved to the be the only goal of the game.

The much-vaunted Super Eagles suffered one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, went home early and Okoye took the brunt of the fans' wrath, forcing him into a self-imposed exile from the national team.

It was into that breach that Nwabali stepped, as Nigeria prepared for the 2023 edition. Like Okoye the tournament before, Nwabali allowed just one goal in the group phase, kept clean sheets in the round of 16 and quarterfinal, and only allowed one goal in the semifinal. It was not until the final that he conceded two.

Nigeria's meme factory went into overdrive, with Nwabali the poster boy of the team. His popularity was especially buoyed by being a home-grown talent from the Nigeria domestic league. One popular one went, "Seventy percent of the earth is covered by water, the rest is covered by Nwabali."

That honeymoon period did not last long. In November of 2024, he allowed an uncharacteristic goal against Benin from a quick corner during Nations Cup qualifying, allowing Mohamed Tijani's header to slip in underneath him at his near post.

After the game, news broke that Nwabali's father had passed, and the goalkeeper had been excused to go home, as the rest of the team prepared for the game against Rwanda four days later.

The goalkeeper later revealed that he was mourning the loss of his grandmother, who too had passed just weeks before the game. Then, his mum passed away too, on New Year's Eve.

It was a devastating time for the player, and Nwabali said in a recent interview that he was so distraught by grief that considered quitting football entirely.

"I try to keep a lot of things to myself, try to move on, try to be a strong guy," he said to ACL Sports.

"Most times I felt like to quit because my mum was so dear to me. It really hurts. It's not a nice feeling for a footballer, or any human being to lose both parents at the same time."

He added: "I lost my smile due to what happened. I remember I was talking to my captain (William) Troost-Ekong that I wanted to leave football but with the help of some of my teammates, I kept going, but it really hurts."

From then on, things just began to unravel, and the mistakes just seemed to pile on, game after game. Errors against Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Benin in World Cup qualifying followed, giving up easy goals.

But beyond the error-strewn performances, what concerned watchers the most was Nwabali's temperament, which saw him tread the borderline of red cards, as he got into unnecessary confrontations with opposition players, and on one occasion, even with his own captain Wilfred Ndidi, who was trying to calm him down.

Those incidents set off alarm bells and led to stringent calls for the recall of Okoye. The now-Udinese goalkeeper was duly named in the preliminary squad.

Then, the final squad for this current AFCON was released and Okoye's name was conspicuously missing, but it turned out that club commitments were responsible for the goalkeeper being left out.

The calls remained against Nwabali, and when he allowed three goals in two games, it did not help matters. Uzoho stepped in for the final group game, as Eric Chelle opted to rest his regulars.

So far, there have been no particularly egregious errors, but the few that have happened, like the Tanzania goal and Tunisia's first goal, have not been taken kindly, and Nwabali has been made to know about it.

But he says he is taking it in stride: "I don't feel like Nigerian fans are too hard on me.

"I only see two things there. They make me strong and they try to be passionate. One thing I love most is facing challenges. I love it so much, even with what has been happening to me.

"It happens in football. I am not the first person and I don't think I will be the last person. I take it, it only makes me stronger."

Winning the confidence of Nigerians back will not be easy, but Nwabali has taken the first step to healing, and that is having the courage to speak out publicly about his grief.

He added: "I feel like talking a lot now because before I try not to give room for this but now I'm here, so I am talking about it."

Perhaps now the goalkeeper will begin to find some peace and start on the path towards a return to the form that made him the toast of Nigeria fans.

A really good, error-free game against Mozambique would be a great first step.