Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has achieved the feat of equaling 44-year record of former shot stopper Best Ogedegbe on Friday, at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
This development occurred Nwabali after Nwabali kept another clean sheet in Nigeria’s 1-0 quarter-finals win against Angola.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have not relented in their effort to win the tournament for the fourth time, as they advanced into the semi-finals of the 34th edition of the 2023 AFCON.
Interestingly, football fans and enthusiast in Nigeria are expecting the Eagles to win the trophy for the fourth time after the victory in 1980, 1994 and 2013.
The achievement for the 27-year-old is him becoming the first Eagles goalkeeper to keep four consecutive clean sheets in a major tourney in 44 years, surpassing Alloy Agu’s three games in a row in 1990.
The last shot stopper to keep four consecutive clean shots in a tournament in Eagles jersey was Ogedegbe in 1980, when the team won their first continental title.
The late keeper kept two consecutive clean sheets against Ivory Coast and Egypt in the group stage, having conceded once in their 3-1 win over Tanzania in their opening game.
He kept another clean sheet against Morocco in the semis, before another 3-0 win over Algeria in the final.
Nwabali, just like Ogedegbe, conceded a goal in the opening game against Equatorial Guinea and had not been beaten afterwards, keeping clean sheets against Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon and Angola.
The Chippa United goalkeeper will hope to own the record outright when the Eagles face the winners between South Africa and Cape Verde in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
