By Albert Akota
Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr has dispatched one of the team’s goalkeeper trainers, Pionetti Enrico to Spain to do some work with young goalkeeper Francis Uzoho ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.
Enrico, who came into the Nigeria senior team’s mix ahead of the B squad’s 2018 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Benin Republic six months ago, arrived in Spain penultimate weekend.
Uzoho was reserve goalkeeper as Nigeria’s U17 boys won the FIFA U17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, and won his first senior cap in a friendly against Argentina in Krasnodar in November last year. He obviously impressed Coach Rohr.
Ball fans are a bit concerned about Super Eagles’ goalkeeping duties at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, with Carl Ikeme (who was between the pipes for the qualifying matches against Swaziland and Zambia at the beginning of the race) still undergoing treatment for leukemia.
Uzoho has kept 10 clean sheets out of 14 matches for the Deportivo La Coruna B squad this term and showed tremendous confidence and agility in the Eagles’ come-from-behind defeat of reigning world vice champions Argentina.
