Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye faces an uncertain future under head coach Eric Chelle after he was left out of Nigeria’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Tanzania.
Okoye’s exclusion has reignited questions about his commitment to the national team, especially after he arrived in Uyo on the morning of Nigeria’s opening qualifier against Madagascar in September, having been the last player to report to camp.
The Super Eagles will meet Tanzania in Uyo on Friday before heading to Zanzibar for the return fixture four days later, with Chelle choosing Stanley Nwabali, Francis Uzoho, and Arthur Okonkwo as his goalkeeping options.
Nigeria sits second in Group L with three points from two matches, after beating Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo and then losing 3-0 to Guinea-Bissau. Since Tanzania has already qualified for the tournament as co-hosts, only one more spot is up for grabs in the group, which puts the Super Eagles under pressure to take maximum points.
Former Super Eagles midfielder Victor Ikpeba also underlined the importance of discipline and punctuality, insisting that players must respect the demands of international duty.
“Competitions bring the best from players. Discipline is very key. A player that comes a day before the match, people are still asking why he is not invited. I was there before, in the 90s; nobody comes a day to the match, you stay at home,” Ikpeba said on SuperSport’s Monday Night Football.
Sports broadcaster Olawale Adigun supported Chelle’s choice to exclude Okoye, maintaining that no player should assume his spot in the national team is guaranteed.
“Nothing is assured with the national team. It was important for Eric Chelle to make a statement, and that was not calling him up, which I am supportive of. In Nwabali, we have a goalkeeper who has shown over the years that he could do the job,” Adigun said on the Social Plus Podcast.
“Okoye, for me, is Nigeria’s best goalkeeper in terms of profile. He plays for a team in Serie A, starts regularly and produces man-of-the-match performances. That is bigger and better, but he needs to show that he wants to play for the national team.”
Okoye’s tardy arrival in September came after similar episodes during earlier international breaks. Back in June 2024, he was again one of the last players to link up with the squad before Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
At various stages of his international career, questions have been raised about the goalkeeper’s availability and commitment, including ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. His most recent delay, though, coincided with his role in Udinese’s third-kit launch at Milan Fashion Week. Chelle subsequently stated that he had given the goalkeeper permission to take part in the club event, but he made clear his frustration with the player’s lateness.
Okoye was left out of Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, yet he seemed to be playing his way back into contention following strong displays against Poland and Portugal in June 2025, while Nwabali was not available for the national team in earlier windows.
Journalist Samuel Areo feels the goalkeeper’s behavior during the September window may have set back the progress he had made in the battle for the first-choice spot.
“He basically blew the chance in the last window when he chose off-field stuff with his club at the expense of competitive apps for SE. Chelle was visibly not pleased, so I don’t know how soon he will get that chance again.
“People believe he’s in great shape; I do too, but his body language to the national team is quite different. Nothing will be given on a platter, and that’s just it,” Areo said.
Since his debut against Brazil in October 2019, Okoye has earned 21 caps for Nigeria, though his international career included a long gap between 2022 and June 2024.
