Nigeria Great Rufai On Enyeama Recall: France 98 Should Not Repeat Itself, Ezenwa Capable

Retired Deportivo de La Coruña goalkeeper Peter Rufai, who is widely regarded as the greatest Nigerian goalkeeper in history, has shared his thoughts on the possible recall of Lille netminder Vincent Enyeama to the Super Eagles ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

Rufai, himself, was handed a late invitation to the national team ahead of the 1998 World Cup, with the then Nigeria manager Bora Milutinović pressing the panic button after the goalkeepers in camp failed to live up to expectations in the build up to the tournament in France.

''I don't think it is similar, what happened in 1998 was few weeks before the World Cup proper. This time around we have couple of months before the World Cup itself,'' Rufai told Brila FM last month.

''A lot will happen, if there are weaknesses in any of the positions, we still have time to ensure the position meets the World Cup standards.There are quite different scenarios, so we cannot compare both.

''The only thing we can talk about now is let's focus on the goalkeepers we have. Ezenwa is capable, he has showed us what it takes to declare himself capable for that position.''

Rufai continued :'' But one thing we should have in mind is goalkeeping is not a child's play, goalkeeping needs consistency in mounting the goalpost.You must use time to build up a goalkeeper, now we still have some time.

''A goalkeeper must be one hundred percent physically fit, a goalkeeper must be mentally sound when you talk of understanding the game situation, reading the game.

''These are the qualities of a goalkeeper for the World Cup. We need to keep giving them the support they need. Alloy Agu and the rest of the technical crew are capable. ''

Peter Rufai went on to concede nine goals at France 1998, the worst performance by a Nigeria goalkeeper at the mundial to date.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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