Ex-international, Mutiu Adepoju has backed Ikechukwu Ezenwa to replace injured Francis Uzoho in the Super Eagles goal post against Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Uzoho, who is expected to be out for 4 weeks after copping an injuring in Elche’s 5-1 loss to Cardiz in the Spanish Second division league at the weekend, has remained Nigeria’s number one goalie since taking over from Ezenwa.
Ezenwa was in goal in Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers and could be saddled with the responsibility of manning the post ahead of Daniel Akpeyi and Theophilus Afelokhai.
The ‘headmaster’ as he’s fondly regarded during his football playing days told Soccernet.ng that the technical crew should pick Ezenwa to stand between the sticks against South Africa in Johannesburg ahead of Akpeyi and Afelokhai.
“I am quite confident having Ikechukwu Ezenwa in goal against South Africa going by his experience with the Super Eagles during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers where he performed incredibly well against Cameroon and Algeria.
“The absence of Francis Uzoho due to injury is an opportunity for Ezenwa to prove his worth to the technical crew of the Super Eagles. That doesn’t mean that the likes of Daniel Akpeyi and Theophilus Afelokhai are not good enough to be between the sticks against South Africa.”
