'This man is too dangerous not to score' - Okoye lauds Super Eagles saviour against Cheetahs, Osimhen

Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has highlighted Victor Osimhen's standout qualities as a goalscorer, noting that it is almost impossible to stop the Galatasaray striker from getting on the scoresheet.

The reigning African Footballer of the Year prevented the Super Eagles from suffering another embarrassing loss to Benin's Cheetahs at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan on Thursday night, netting a crucial equalizer to ensure Nigeria topped Group D of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a game to spare.

At club level, Okoye and Osimhen have faced off once, back in the 2023-2024 season at Bluenergy Stadium, where the center forward opened the scoring with a trademark headed goal before Isaac Success scored to salvage a point in injury time.

Okoye's Serie A experience includes encounters with top strikers such as Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram of Inter Milan, Mateo Retegui of Atalanta, Luka Jović of AC Milan, Romelu Lukaku of Napoli and Paulo Dybala of AS Roma.

The Super Eagles goalkeeper admitted that 2022 World Cup winner, Dybala is the most dangerous player he has faced in the Italian top flight, with a special mention for Osimhen.

In an interview uploaded to YouTube two days ago, Okoye told SportyTV : "The first player I think about is Dybala. I remember he didn't start the game, he came in and it was incredible how he changed the game. The impact was so massive that anybody who's asking me the question, the first player I say is Dybala.

"I faced also my brother Osimhen, it's also something not easy to face. A lot of quality players in the Serie A.

"Osimhen scored one goal against me, we played 1-1 at home against Napoli. It's in his DNA to score and for him it's not possible to not score.

“He's too much of a quality striker but people could see that he didn't celebrate the goal. It meant a lot to me, he has to do his job. This man is too dangerous not to score.”

As things stand, Okoye is no longer the Super Eagles' number one, with Chippa United captain Stanley Nwabali ahead of him in the pecking order of goalkeepers.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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