Duke Udi told Super Eagles head coach éric chelle on Brila FM that 29-year-old Stanley Nwabali should not be recalled to the national team while he remains without a club, a report published on 23 Apr 2026 at 11:09 said.
Udi’s intervention landed after Nwabali mutually ended his four-year spell at Chippa United in February 2026 and has been unattached since; he has not played competitive football since helping Nigeria win a bronze medal at the 2025 African Cup of Nations in Morocco. The goalkeeper was also left out of the Super Eagles squad for the March 2026 friendlies against Iran and Jordan.
Those facts, Udi said, make selection decisions simple. "We need to learn from the English and Senegalese national teams. With all due respect to Nigeria, how do they pick their players?" he asked, before adding: "Sometimes when you do things your own way and it’s not working, you have to look at those doing it better and learn from them. If you look at the Senegal national team, they pick players based on merit and who is in form. You must prove yourself to get called up."
Udi framed his view in blunt, repeated lines. "Every Nigerian who wants to play for the Super Eagles should be chosen on merit, not based on where he comes from or who he represents," he said. "Once you are qualified, good enough, and performing well at your club, then you are entitled to play for the national team." He added, "The national team isn’t a rehabilitation centre. Nwabali isn’t a bad goalkeeper, but for now he is clubless so how do you bring a clubless player into the national team?" and capped his point with the proverb: "I get am before no be property."
The intervention carries weight because Nwabali’s recent record had made him a central figure for Nigeria. He had established himself as the Super Eagles’ number one ahead of the 2024 African Cup of Nations and was part of the side that won bronze in 2025. Yet his exit from Chippa United in February and the lack of competitive minutes since Morocco have left his international prospects uncertain.
That uncertainty is sharpened by fresh competition. Arthur Okonkwo’s FIFA-approved international switch has added another option in the Super Eagles goalkeeping pool, and the team is preparing a busy spell: the side will defend its Unity Cup title in London next month and then face Portugal and Poland in two friendlies in June 2026. Those fixtures give head coach Chelle an immediate platform to choose between proven form and past reputation.
Nwabali’s clubless status has prompted transfer chatter — he has been linked with Kaizer Chiefs, Simba SC and Al Ahly Benghazi — but no concrete deal had been finalised as the summer window approached. That gap is the practical hurdle Udi highlighted: without regular club action, there is no demonstration of the "form" he says should drive selection.
The tension Udi exposes is the same friction every national coach faces: pick on pedigree and past achievements, or pick those currently playing and producing results. Chelle must balance loyalty to a goalkeeper who helped win a continental medal with pressure to field players in rhythm ahead of the Unity Cup and the June friendlies. "You should always pick based on form," Udi said, summarising the choice.
The likely outcome is procedural. If Nwabali remains unattached into next month, the Super Eagles are more likely to go with keepers who are playing regularly — including Okonkwo, now eligible — than to recall a 29-year-old who has been idle since February. For Nwabali, the clearest path back to the team is also the simplest: sign for a club and prove he can still perform week in, week out.
