Stanley Nwabali applauding teammates after Nigeria’s 4-0 AFCON win over Mozambique
Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali was in a relaxed mood after Nigeria’s emphatic 4–0 victory over Mozambique, choosing to shine the spotlight on his teammates rather than himself following his first clean sheet of AFCON 2025.
Nigeria produced their most convincing performance of the tournament on Monday night, brushing aside Mozambique in the Round of 16 to book a place in the quarter-finals.
While goals from Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, and Akor Adams stole the headlines, Nwabali quietly reached an important personal milestone between the sticks.
The shutout against Mozambique marked Nwabali’s first clean sheet of the tournament — a notable moment for the goalkeeper who etched his name into Nigerian football history at AFCON 2023.
During that tournament, Nwabali went an incredible 493 minutes without conceding, breaking the long-standing record previously held by legendary goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu.
Yet, the Chippa United shot-stopper refused to take personal credit for Monday’s achievement.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Nwabali highlighted the collective spirit within the squad as the real reason behind the clean sheet.
“First, I want to say kudos to these guys, from the coach to the players,” he said.
“They are one family, fighting like this and winning with a clean sheet.”
The goalkeeper also stressed that improvement comes gradually in tournament football.
“I feel like there’s a lot of improvement in the team,” he explained.
“A tournament is not something you rush. We played the first game, second game, third game, and we conceded. Now we’ve kept a clean sheet.”
“The more we keep clean sheets, the further we will go.”
Asked about Nigeria’s upcoming quarter-final in Marrakesh, Nwabali stayed firmly grounded in the present — and added a touch of humour.
“I don’t like talking about my next game until the day I’m playing,” he said.
“I’m just happy we won today. You can see I didn’t do much.”
Then came the punchline that had reporters smiling.
“It’s nice to be on holiday. I didn’t celebrate in December, so now I’m celebrating my own December here.”
With Nigeria now tightening up defensively and clicking in attack, confidence is quietly building within Eric Chelle’s squad.
As the Super Eagles prepare for the quarter-finals, Nwabali and his teammates will be hoping that Monday’s clean sheet is just the beginning of a run that ends with continental glory.
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