Maduka Okoye saved Adrián Bernabé's 69th-minute penalty as Udinese drew 0-0 with Parma at the Tardini on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. The point ended a run of six straight Serie A defeats for Kosta Runjaic's side and gave the Super Eagles goalkeeper his first league clean sheet of the season.

From the fumble to the save

The penalty came out of a mess of Udinese's own making. Okoye failed to hold a corner. Troilo shot, the ball struck James Abankwah's arm, and referee Davide Massa pointed to the spot. Bernabé stepped up. Okoye went the right way and kept it out.

It had been a tight evening. Nicolò Zaniolo curled an early effort wide for the visitors and Carboni headed over at the other end. After the break Alberto Gilardino's Parma pushed harder, and Sierro tested Okoye from distance.

Relief, mostly.

Before kick-off the Nigerian had conceded 18 goals in nine league appearances, and even with this point Udinese have only five on the board, which says plenty about the start the Friulian club have made. Okoye did not dress it up. “The penalty save was pure instinct,” he told Complete Sports. “We always want to win and we need points. Today we got one, and that's fine.”

Zaniolo was warmer still.

“It's not the first time Maduka has saved us,” the Italian forward said, as reported by Naija News. “I love him; he's a good person and a fantastic goalkeeper.”

He went further. “Today, thanks to him, we broke our losing streak and got a point away from home.”

Why Chelle will be watching

For Nigeria the timing matters. Okoye was one of three goalkeepers in Eric Chelle's 24-man squad for the September qualifiers, alongside Stanley Nwabali and Arthur Okonkwo. He reached the camp in Uyo the day before the Madagascar game. Nwabali started that 2-1 win. Nigeria then lost 3-0 in Guinea-Bissau.

The double header against Tanzania comes in the November window, with the home leg pencilled in for 11 November in Uyo according to an NFF official, although CAF had still to confirm the date and the squad has not been named, so the goalkeeping order remains an open question until Chelle publishes his list.

What Okoye can control is his club form. One clean sheet does not erase a difficult autumn. It does give the Udinese number one something to build on before Roma visit Udine on Saturday.

“Now we're immediately focusing on the next one,” he said.

Chelle, the Super Eagles coach, has a decision to make in goal, and Okoye has just handed him a reason to think hard about it.

This article was most recently revised and updated 20 seconds ago