Eguavoen and Super Eagles players are angry with Nwabali for his antics in the 0-0 draw against Rwanda

Nigeria’s senior national team’s first-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has drawn the ire of his players and also the coaching staff due to his time-wasting antics in the 0-0 draw against Rwanda in the AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nwabali fell twice in the closing stages of play in Kigali on Wednesday as the Super Eagles completed their opening series of games with a 3-0 win and a 0-0 draw, leaving them with four points from a possible six.

His antics did not go down well with the players, who became furious, especially the second time he fell. This led to questions directed at the team’s coach, Austine Eguavoen, after the match, and he confirmed that he will speak to him about it.

Eguavoen admitted that it is something he will discuss with the 28-year-old so that he does not repeat it in future matches. At his South African club Chippa United, he was booked six times for time-wasting.

“I’m not encouraging him to do that, it’s something we need to talk about and we all know he’s one of the best goalkeepers in Africa at the moment. Some referees might also get irritated and start adding more minutes,” the coach said at the post-match press conference.

“It’s not a game plan. I told you before, we come here to get three points, so holding back these kinds of balls is not the best thing.

“It is an internal conversation that we will discuss, but things like this will not happen again in the future.”

Mohamed Mowiz Suleiman