By Ghanaman
Rave of the moment, Stanley Nwabali says he doesn’t get bothered by criticisms from certain quarters aimed at him.
The Super Eagles Goalkeeper put up a heroic performance to secure Nigeria’s spot in the final of the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations by saving two crucial spot kicks as the West African giants outclassed their South African rivals 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw during regular and extra time on Wednesday night at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.
Fielding questions from the media right after the crunch encounter dubbed ‘The Amapiano Derby’, the ex Go Round FC of Omoku shot stopper said such talks rather motivate him to do better on the pitch:
“To me, there’s no room to talk about criticisms now because it happens in football.
When football goes like this and your fans really want more from you, they must say these kind of these things, but I don’t see it as anything; I just see it as a motivation to me, to keep working and just show my team and my country”.
The Chippa United of South Africa safe pair of hands also pulled off crucial saves during the match to keep Nigeria in the game. Speaking further about his performance in the game, ‘Bobo’, as he’s fondly called, was humble to reject personal glory, claiming it was a collective effort from his colleagues:
“It has been a good team performance throughout this tournament. I really appreciate the management and coaches. These guys have really guided me a lot. But today, I feel so happy and I really appreciate my teammates”.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will renew hostilities with regional rivals Ivory Coast in the final on Sunday, as The Elephants claimed a 1-0 win over DR. Congo in the second semi final match on Sunday night.
Sebastian Haller’s 65th minute improvised acrobatic strike was all the hosts needed to hunt down the Congolese Leopards at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
- The same venue will crown the new Afcon champions on Sunday, which will be a repeat of the Group A encounter that saw the Super Eagles dispatch Ivory Coast 1-0 in the early stages of the tournament.
Losing semi finalists, South Africa and DR Congo will contest the third place playoff with the Bronze medal up for grabs.
