'I'm not saying he's not a good GK' - Chukwueze dismisses notion RSA star Williams is a penalty-saving specialist

Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has dismissed the notion that Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams is a penalty-saving specialist ahead of the mouthwatering clash between Nigeria and South Africa in the semifinal of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. 

The Mamelodi Sundowns star etched his name into the history books as the first goalkeeper to ever save four penalties in a single AFCON shootout as South Africa defeated Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties to set up a semifinal meeting with Nigeria.

He matched the feat of Harald Schumacher (Germany),  Sergio Goycochea (Argentina) and Dominik Livaković (Croatia) who saved four penalties in a single game at the 1982, 1990 and 2022 World Cup respectively.

Chukwueze has played down the achievement of Williams, saying that penalties is a game of chance but was careful not to label the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper an ordinary goalkeeper. 

The Tottenham Hotspur youth team product has kept the most clean sheets at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, an honor he shares with Nigeria's Stanley Nwabali. 

Reacting to William's penalty saves against Cape Vede, Chukwueze told Hot Sport's Toyin Ibitoye : "Penalty is a game of luck, anybody can miss. It's the one he saw that he saved.

"I'm not saying he's not a good goalkeeper, actually a good goalkeeper, but the most important thing is for us to win in 90 minutes or 120 minutes. We will win without going into penalties.

"It's not about being scared, it's about being on a safer side at the moment. We have been watching their clips, they are good on their own day but we'll try our best and win."
 

Chukwueze has insisted that the Super Eagles have to be at their best to beat a South African team who have been solid defensively, posting four consecutive clean sheets. 

"It's going to be a tough game. Bafana Bafana is not a small team. We have to give everything, from the way we have been playing, this is our second finals so we have to give everything,

"We have good players that can do everything on the pitch, we have been doing so well from the group stage till now, we have not lost any game."

The last time Nigeria tackled South Africa at the Africa Cup of Nations, Chukwueze needed less than 30 minutes to score against Ronwen Williams as the Super Eagles beat Bafana Bafana 2-1 to qualify for the semifinals of the 2019 AFCON.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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