MEET THE SUPER EAGLES: Francis Uzoho

Aside from being a hub for Commerce, Agriculture, and Investment opportunities,  Imo  state also boasts a rich collection of former and current Super Eagles players; Kanu Nwankwo, the Prince of Monaco; Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Emenike,  Kelechi  Iheanacho, Paul Onuachu  amongst others. Nwangele, a local government in Imo State can also be proud of adding her son; Francis Uzoho to that list.

Born on the 28^th of October, 1998, Uzoho joined Aspire Academy in 2013 at age 14. He started as a forward. However, he was converted to a goalkeeper at the age of 12 because he was as slow as a snail in front of goal.

Uzoho, after impressing in a tournament in Barcelona, joined the cadet division of Spanish outfit; Deportivo de La Coruna in 2016 but was not allowed to sign a contract with them until a year later due to age restrictions. Uzoho made his debut after being promoted to the reserve team in a 3-0 home win over Real Madrid’s Castilla in the Segunda Division. On September 10, 2017, he made his debut for the senior team in a barren draw against SD Eibar as he became the youngest ever foreign goalkeeper to debut in the La Liga and the second-youngest player to appear in the league during the campaign at 18 years and 352 days, only behind Real Madrid and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi.

Before making his international debut on November 14^th, 2017 in a pre-World Cup friendly match against Argentina in Krasnodar, Russia, he was called up as a backup goalkeeper for Dele Alampasu at the under-17 World Cup in the UAE. After series of decent performances, he was named in Gernot Rohr’s squad for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 as the first choice goalkeeper. Despite controversies as regards his age, reports has it that he passed his MRI scan with 99% accuracy before going for the cadet world cup in 2013.

The Nations Cup in Egypt this summer will be his first tournament on African soil. Despite the number of games he has started with the national team, he still divides opinions among Nigerian football fans especially as regards his decision making and ball handling skills. However, Uzoho will most likely be the number one man to stand in between the sticks for the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the AFCON tournament which takes center stage this summer. Francis Uzoho is currently on loan at Anorthosis Famagusta in Cyprus.

National Team Summary;

• Appearances = 15
• Goals conceded = 17
• Clean Sheets = 5
• Total Number of minutes = 1,124
• Trophies Won = None