Coppa Italia – Okoye claims No. 1 spot for the Super Eagles with his first clean sheet of the season

Former Nigeria senior goalkeeper Maduka Okoye pushed to reclaim the number one spot in the team from Stanley Nwabali with his first clean sheet of the season yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Okoye, who rose to the starting role at Udinese in the second half of last season, finished with five clean sheets in 22 games, and in just his first game of the season he has taken a step towards improving on his tally from last season.

He was behind the goal yesterday when his team started the season with a 4-0 win over Avellino. He was behind the goal for the entire match, although he was not asked to do much.

The 24-year-old Okoye was Nigeria’s first choice until he decided to take a break from the team after his mistake in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match against Tunisia proved costly as Nigeria lost 0-1.

He was the subject of several online criticisms and that made him take a break from the team but he recently confirmed his willingness to return to the team, however, he faces a big battle to displace Nwabali who is the new first-choice goalkeeper after ascending to the role at the AFCON.