Kenneth Omeruo has played a starring role as a super-sub for Nigeria's Super Eagles at the AFCON 2023.
Nigeria defender Kenneth Omeruo has revealed he stepped up to take a penalty for his country in the dramatic AFCON semifinal shootout win over South Africa due to his spot-kick prowess in training.
Pulse Sports Nigeria reports that Omeruo set the tempo for the Super Eagles' 4-2 shootout victory against the Bafana Bafana in the semifinal on Wednesday.
Omeruo on cold penalty
In a video on TikTok, Omeruo explained how he has been practising and consistently scoring penalties throughout the AFCON 2023.
"It's the way I take my penalties," the 2013 AFCON winner said. "Right from when we went to [the] second round, we've been practising in training every day and I am one of the guys who always scores."
Brought on in the 120th minute before the shootout, Omeruo told his coach he was ready to take the first penalty when asked.
"The coach put me in and said 'are you going to take or not?' So, i said, 'i am going to take'," he added.
The centre-back came on and calmly converted his kick in the dramatic shootout to set Nigeria on their way to a much-needed victory against the Rainbow nation.
The 30-year-old spread his arms confidently after scoring, having stepped up when it mattered thanks to his regular penalty reps on the training ground.
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