Snl24 | Nigeria forward: I’m not saying Williams isn’t a good GK…

Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has backed his team to beat Bafana Bafana within 90 minutes and avoid facing South Africa’s quarter-final hero Ronwen Williams (above) in a penalty shootout.

Ahead of their crunch 2023 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final tie, a Nigeria attacker has reacted to South Africa captain Ronwen Williams’ shootout heroics against Cape Verde.

The Bafana Bafana goalkeeper put in an incredible display in his side’s quarter-final tie, making crucial saves late in the game and making an incredible four saves in the penalty shootout that followed.

The Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper’s actions resulted in him becoming the first-ever goalkeeper to save that number of spot-kicks during a shootout at an AFCON. 

Speaking ahead of Nigeria’s semi-final against South Africa, however, AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze seems to have alluded to believing that penalty saves have more to do with fortune than ability. 

“Penalty is a game of luck, anybody can miss. It’s the one he saw that he saved,” he said, according to All Nigeria Soccer. 

He went on to admit, though, that Williams is good at what he does, but also expressed confidence in his team’s ability to decide matters within normal time, preventing the need for a shootout. 

“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,” Chukwueze added. 

“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.

“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.”

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