Nigeria captain dedicates victory to Chippa United goalkeeper

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has dedicated their 2-0 win against Rwanda on Friday to Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nwabali has been facing a tough time off the field in recent months.

His father passed away during the November international break. The 28-year-old played during Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with Benin before he was granted compassionate leave to attend the funeral.

Barely two months after burying his father, Chippa goalie Nwabali lost his mother, who passed away in January.

At the time, Nwabali acknowledged that he was not mentally stable as he was still coping with the difficult situation. But Nwabali was back in the post during the victory against “The Wasps” at Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali on Friday. It was Nigeria’s first win of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

The Super Eagles are in the same group as Bafana Bafana, who are now the log leaders after the 2-0 win over Lesotho at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday. Bafana are four points ahead after five matches played so far.

WHY THE NIGERIA CAPTAIN DEDICATED THE WIN TO STANLEY NWABALI

Speaking after the Nigeria match, Troost-Ekong described how fellow teammates decided to dedicate the win to Nwabali.

“I also want to dedicate this game from all of us to Stanley [Nwabali], who is such an integral part of our team now,” said Troost-Ekong.

“He has been through a lot since we last saw him in November. So today’s [Friday] game, afterwards, we celebrated with him because it has not been easy what he has gone through, and again, like always, today he was fantastic.

“We are one big family, and we want to celebrate this moment together and support each other.

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