Okoye was the Super Eagles’ number-one goalkeeper at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun, but he fell out of favor after Nigeria crashed out of the tournament in the round of 16, where the Eagles lost 1-0 to Tunisia.
Since then, Okoye has only been invited to one national team engagement, the 4-0 friendly defeat to Portugal, in November 2022.
However, according to a recent report, the Udinese goalkeeper excused himself from all National Team duties after he received backlash from the Nigeria supporters during the 2021 AFCON.
The report says Okoye told the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and the coach that he is not ready mentally to keep games for Nigeria.
He claimed that; he is yet to recover from the social media criticism from the fans and media.
Okoye born to a Nigeria father and a German mother was picked to solve the goalkeeping crisis that has rocked the team since Carl Ikeme quit due to illness, but the 24-year-old later fell out with the team after he was criticized for Nigeria’s elimination from 2021 AFCON.
Maduka Okoye has made 16 appearances for the Nigeria Super Eagles since his debut against Brazil in October 2019.
