Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has revealed that the toughest moment of his career came during Nigeria’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) defeat to Tunisia, where his costly error led to the team’s early exit from the competition.
The decisive moment occurred just two minutes into the second half when Tunisia’s Youssef Msakni fired a swerving effort from outside the penalty area. It was a shot many believed Okoye should have comfortably dealt with, but it slipped past him and proved to be the game’s only goal, sealing Nigeria’s elimination.
The mistake sparked intense backlash from supporters and across social media platforms, eventually forcing Okoye to step away from international duty for a period.
Reflecting on the incident in a conversation with sports journalist Ayodele Olu Ibidapo, Okoye admitted he was deeply affected by the outcome and the weight of disappointment he felt afterwards.
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“The Tunisia game when we lost was tough for me, was very tough for me, because as a kid you dream of playing for the Super Eagles, then you feel like you let the country down, you let your family down, it was very tough for me,” he said.
Okoye went on to acknowledge his inexperience at the time and explained how the difficult episode has shaped him: “I was younger than I am now so I didn’t really know how to deal with it, but with time I’ve learned a lot. Mistakes are a part of the game and they only make you better.”
Although he has found peace with the situation over time, the pain of that moment still lingers: “I look back smiling but it still hurts because I think we could have gone far in the tournament, but I know that I will make it up one day,” he added.
Maduka Okoye has since made his return to the national team and was recently in action for the Super Eagles, making multiple important saves to secure a 1-1 draw against Russia during an international friendly in Moscow earlier this month.
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