There are indications that Super Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi may have lost his place in the national team after an uninspiring outing against South Africa in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo in June.
The Chippa United keeper and Super Eagles defenders were in shaky form as Bafana Bafana stunned the Nigerians 2-0 in the 2019 AFCON qualifier.
A source revealed that Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr has lost confidence in Akpeyi and his decision to bring Italian goalkeeper trainer Enrico Pionetti for the home-based goalkeepers is as a result of his search for a replacement for Akpeyi.
“Rohr is not pleased with Daniel and the only way he can return to the Super Eagles fold is if the four goalkeepers in CHAN Eagles now fail to take their chance by impressing the Italian trainer and Rohr. If they do well, it is over for Akpeyi with the Eagles,” a source within the Super Eagles camp revealed.
“The Eagles coach brought the goalkeeper trainer early to work on the boys with the hope that he would find one of two of them good enough to step up into the main Eagles to face Cameroon next in the World Cup qualifiers. It is left for Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Theophilus Afelokhia and the other two goalkeepers to rise to the occasion.
“I can also tell you that Rohr is not considering recalling former skipper and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. He has made up his mind on that and Akpeyi’s future is dependent on how the local goalies fare.”
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that the Italian trainer will keep the chosen goalkeepers in camp after the two-legged CHAN qualifiers with Benin Republic till the foreign-based players join for the World Cup clashes with Cameroon billed for September 1 and September 4.
NPFL Week 33 Results
MFM 0 – 0 Enyimba
Kano Pillars 1 – 1 Plateau Utd
Sunshine 1 – 0 Akwa Utd
3SC 2 – 1 Gombe Utd
Tornadoes 1 – 0 El-Kanemi
ABS 2 – 0 Remo Stars
Lobi 2 – 4 Abia Warriors
IfeanyiUbah 1 – 0 Nasarawa
