Chippa United and Super Eagles ace shot stopper Stanley Nwabali has recounted the dramatic penalty shootout victory over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the recent AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
Nwabali stated that the South African players were scared of him, oozing out confidence as he cleared the air.
Recall that Nwabali was the hero against the Bafana Bafana, stopping penalties from Mokoena and Magkopa for the Super Eagles progress to the AFCON final.
In an exclusive interview with FARPost, Nwabali explained:”When we went to penalty shootouts against South Africa, my coaches said Nigeria were going to win because they know me.
“People didn’t know me. Only a few teams in South Africa knew that when you go to penalty shootouts against Stanley, it’s gone.
“You’re finished; just forget about the game. You must give me the man of the match because I will save a lot.”
“A lot of Bafana Bafana guys didn’t know me. But maybe they might have seen in the video analysis or asked questions back in South Africa,” he added.
“If you look at the eyes of the Bafana Bafana players, they looked scared. If you watched the game and you look at their eyes when taking a penalty against me, they looked scared.
“So, when you’re not confident enough to stand, I know you’re going to fumble in the penalty. I was not surprised by Mokoena’s miss, and I was not surprised by Makgopa’s miss.
“So, these teams like Polokwane, Sekhukhune, Stellenbosch, know that if you go to penalties with me, It’s finished.”
Nwabali was compared with South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who eventually beat him to the AFCON Golden Glove award, but he has also snuffed out the comparison;
“So when we went to penalties walking with Ronwen Williams to the [goals], I just said to myself, ‘This is the end of the road for you guys, sorry my friend’,” he remembered.
“Everyone thought Williams would save against Nigeria. Even the Nigerians were scared. You saw after a loss against Nigeria, he succeeded again against DR Congo.
“Ronwen Williams is good on penalties, but I’m not comparing him with myself because I know what I can do. I’m only talking about penalties, when you go to penalties with me, I don’t think I’m going to lose.”
Both teams will clash again in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier in Uyo in June.
