Super Eagles’ Maduka Okoye Reacts After Playing First Game In 14 Months

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye is excited that he finally had the opportunity to play club football after waiting for 14 months.

Okoye, who couldn’t play for his former club, Watford, due to poor form, wasn’t trusted at Spanish La Liga club, Udinese since he joined the club in the summer transfer window.

On Wednesday, November 1, his opportunity to play finally came when Udinese decided to use him to execute their Coppa Italia round of 32 encounters at home against Cagliari.

Unfortunately, the game didn’t have a happy ending for Okoye, who conceded two goals as the match ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Even though the team lost, the 24-year-old goalkeeper gave a very good account of himself and was regarded as Udinese’s best-performing player on the pitch.

Okoye made eight saves in the game and also had a 73% pass accuracy rate out of 38 touches.

After the game, the Nigerian goalkeeper said, “It was unfortunate, but I think that in recent times we have been developing a good mentality, offensive and pattern.

“I thank the club for giving me this opportunity to play, I will learn from this experience. It’s been a long time since I saw the pitch, I also thank the fans. I’m sure I will enjoy playing for this shirt.”

With his performance in the mid-week game, Okoye is expected to be named in the Super Eagles team that will execute 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe later this month.

However, the performance might not guarantee him his Italian Serie A debut against the league’s giants AC Milan at 8:45 p.m. later today, November 4.