Super Eagles goalkeeping coach heads to Spain to work with Deportivo's Francis Uzoho

SUPER Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has sent the team's goalkeeper trainer Pionetti Enrico to Spain to do some work with Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Francis Uzoho ahead of next month's two friendlies against Poland and Serbia.

On March 23, the Eagles face Poland in Wroclaw and three days later play Serbia at Barnet's stadium in north London as the teams prepares for the World Cup. In an indication that Rohr intends to make Uzoho his number one goalkeeper, the coach has decided that the player needs some fine tuning ahead of the two games.

Uzoho, 20, burst into the scene this season, manning goal for Deportivo La Coruna in a few games but has since been sent back to the Second team, which plays in the second tier of the Spanish league. He won his first senior cap in a friendly against Argentina in Krasnodar in November last year, coming on in the second half and putting in an outstanding performance.

So far this season, Uzoho has kept 10 clean sheets out of 14 matches for the Deportivo La Coruna B squad and showed tremendous confidence and agility in the Eagles’ come-from-behind defeat of reigning world vice champions Argentina. Keen to make sure he is fully fit for the two friendlies next month, Mr Enrico will participate in his training while in Spain.

Nigeria's two senior goalkeepers are out of action with Carl Ikeme of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who started the World Cup campaigns suffering from leukaemia. Vincent Enyeama, Nigeria's veteran goalkeeper has retired from international football and is also out of favour at Lille in France, where he has been unable to regain his starting place after recovering from knee surgery.