Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho made his first appearance since January after coming on as a substitute in Omonia Nicosia’s huge victory against Aris Limassol on Saturday.
The former Deportivo La Coruna shot-stopper replaced Fabiano Freitas between the sticks after the veteran Brazilian goalkeeper suffered an injury in the first half of the game.
Uzoho has not enjoyed much game time at both club and international levels since the turn of the year, having lost his starting positions at Omonia and the Super Eagles.
The 25-year-old entered 2024 very much in favour and was a constant fixture in Omonia’s starting line-up, as the club looked to battle their rivals in the race for the Cypriot league.
Uzoho went on to start four games in a row for Omonia before joining his country for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in Ivory Coast but has struggled to get back into the team since returning from the tournament.
Uzoho makes first appearance in three months
Uzoho’s woes actually started before the AFCON, when then-Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro invited Stanley Nwabali to serve as his competition.
Nwabali subsequently started ahead of Uzoho in the pre-tournament friendly against Guinea, becoming the Super Eagles’ undisputed number one throughout the Nations Cup. The Chippa United shot-stopper started every game and impressively kept four clean sheets as Nigeria finished as runners-up.
With Uzoho left in the cold, a return to club football offered his best shot at gaining some playing time but he has rarely played there too, with new manager Giannis Anastasiou preferring Fabiano as his first-choice goalkeeper.
Having failed to make any appearances since January 2, Uzoho finally returned to the pitch in Omonia’s thrashing of Aris Limassol on Saturday when replaced the injured Fabiano in the 36th minute.
The scoreline was goalless when the Nigerian came on and he helped Omonia to ship three goals past their opponents, while keeping a clean sheet at the other end.
