The decision to make Deportivo La Coruna B goalkeeper Francis Uzoho as first choice goalkeeper of the Nigerian team at the ongoing Russia 2018 World Cup has been explained by coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr.
Speaking at the pre match conference ahead of tomorrow’s game against Iceland, Rohr pointed the unfortunate incident of first choice goalkeeper Carl Ikeme getting diagnosed with Leukaemia as the beginning of the goalkeepers crisis of the team.
Rohr even made mentioned of the injury to Vincent Enyeama furthering compounding the woes of the team in the area of goalkeeping. A pointer to the fact that the former captain of the Nigerian team was under consideration for a return to the national team for the World Cup.
” We had issues in the goalkeeping department when Ikeme was diagnosed with Leukaemia and Enyeama was also injured. We had to use Ikechukwu Ezenwa who did very well”, Rohr said.
” We found Uzoho who was then keeping goal for the B team of Deportivo La Coruna, we sent our goalkeeper trainer to see him in Spain, before playing him against Argentina for the first time.
” Since then he has continue to improve. He is cool headed and works very hard and I hope he becomes a very good goalkeeper for the team in the future “, Rohr remarked in response to a question on why he made the 19 year old his first choice goalkeeper.
Samuel Thompson
