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Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Ikpeba made a bold claim following Nigeria’s hard-fought 2-1 victory over Madagascar on Friday evening, insisting that Stanley Nwabali is a better goalkeeper than Maduka Okoye.

Okoye had started back-to-back games for the Super Eagles during their June friendlies, but the Udinese goalkeeper was unavailable for selection against Madagascar after reporting late for international duty. 

Chelle permitted Okoye to delay his arrival in camp so he could attend an event backed by his Italian club.

One of the key talking points from Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium came in the 51st minute when Nwabali produced a crucial save to deny Rayan Raveloson from restoring Madagascar’s lead in a one-on-one situation.

Ikpeba lauded Nwabali and suggested that the Super Eagles conceding at that stage could have changed the outcome of the match.

Speaking on SuperSport, the former Monaco star said: “Credit to Nwabali, he’s the number one goalkeeper for the national team. In my opinion, he’s better than Maduka. People at home might disagree, but he’s the number one goalkeeper for the national team.

“He showed that attribute again, the belief, the determination, ‘I’m going to stop the lad’. Yes, the Madagascar attacker should have done better if he had a technique like me in my days.

“He saved our blushes because in that moment, if it was 2-1, you don’t know what would have been the outcome of this game. The score might have ended 2-2 or we lose 2-1.”

Nwabali’s appearance against Madagascar was his first for Nigeria since he kept four consecutive clean sheets at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Intrestingly, Super Eagles manager, Eric Chelle has singled out Nwabali for praise following his crucial save that helped Nigeria secure a 2-1 victory over Madagascar.

The Chippa United goalkeeper produced an excellent stop to deny Madagascar captain Rayan Raveloson in a one-on-one situation at the start of the second half, keeping Nigeria in the contest.

Speaking after the match, Chelle praised Nwabali for making the crucial save and also highlighted the difficulty Nigeria faced against Madagascar’s deep defensive approach throughout the encounter.

“Nwabali did well because they had a chance to score a goal but Nwabali at this moment practically was very good,” Chelle said in his post-match press conference.