Mercy Akide, one of the most iconic figures in African women's football, has come to the defence of Samuel Chukwueze following his missed penalty during the semifinals of the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations.
In a clash of heavyweights at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, the Atlas Lions required a penalty shoot-out to overcome a resolute Nigerian side, with Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi failing to convert from the spot.
Interestingly, the forward was introduced from the bench in the first minute of stoppage time in extra time, specifically for penalty duties, replacing Frank Onyeka.
After Hamza Igamane's effort was saved by goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, Chukwueze had the chance to hand the Super Eagles a crucial advantage in the shootout, but he was denied by Morocco goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, who held his nerve before diving to make the save.
Defending his decision to assign Chukwueze the penalty-taking responsibility, manager Eric Chelle emphasised that the AC Milan loanee had been the Super Eagles' most reliable penalty taker during training sessions leading up to the clash with the Atlas Lions.
Super Falcons legend Akide highlighted the pressures involved in taking penalties and appealed for empathy towards Chukwueze.
Speaking on the ATHLST podcast, Akide said: "Before he took the kick, I saw him. He is a jokester, maybe because of his age. If you look at their posts on social media, he is a jokester. In that kind of situation, even though he’s been taking penalties in practice and feels he can take one, the crowd was too big for him, and you could already see it on him when he was about to take the penalty.
"Penalty takers don’t just walk like that, shift to one side, and simply pass the ball. But I’m going to say it’s nerve-wracking to take a penalty. Everybody thinks you can just kick it in; it’s not as easy as that."
Akide further highlighted the mental toll on Chukwueze while also praising the Moroccan goalkeeper for his performance.
"They should not blame him. This is how the game should have played out, one team will always win. We should not crucify him; we should leave him alone. He’s not the only one who missed; the defender Bruno also missed.
"You could see it from his body movement while he was walking. I told my husband, Colin, I was scared. He showed the goalkeeper where his penalty was going. He could have put it on the opposite side. When he went for the final contact, he didn’t put his head up.
"t was not an easy ball to save, but the goalkeeper was as good as our own goalkeeper. They shouldn’t discourage him; he’s a young guy."
Chukwueze did not take a penalty in Nigeria's shoot-out victory over Egypt in the third place playoff, with Eric Chelle bringing on Chidera Ejuke to replace him in the 90th minute.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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