Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has said that he was on break and celebrated his Christmas during their 4-0 win over Mozambique on Monday.
The South Africa-based goalkeeper complimented his team’s teamwork after achieving his first clean sheet in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria defeated Mozambique 4-0 on Monday night.
At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, Nwabali set a new standard for Nigerian goalkeeping by going the longest without letting a goal in.
He played 493 minutes without conceding across six matches, which is a record for a Super Eagles goalkeeper in the tournament’s history.
In doing so, he beat the old record held by the famous goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu, who played for Nigeria in two different Afcon tournaments.
After the game, Nwabal talked to reporters in the mixed zone and talked about how united the team is, how much they have grown, and how disciplined they were, especially in keeping the clean sheet.
After thinking about the victory, Nwabal first talked about his own role and then gave credit to the whole team.
“I’m only happy today because we won, and I think I just want to go and rest. You can see I didn’t do much today,” he said.
“It’s nice to be on holiday. You know, I didn’t celebrate December before, but now I’m celebrating my own December here. It’s nice.”
Nigeria will play Algeria in the quarter-finals in Marrakesh on Saturday and Nwabal said the team must remain focused and disciplined.
