Former Nigerian defender Brian Idowu, who used to play for Lokomotiv Moscow, has praised Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye after Nigeria’s 1-1 friendly draw with Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Idowu said Okoye was the main reason Nigeria didn’t lose the match. He pointed out that the goalkeeper made several key saves that kept the team in the game on Friday evening.

Russia took the lead in the 27th minute when Semi Ajayi accidentally scored an own goal. Despite this, Okoye stayed focused and made many impressive saves to stop Russia from scoring more.

Nigeria later equalized in the 71st minute with a goal from Tolu Arokodare, bringing the score to 1-1.

After the match, Idowu, who was born in Russia but has Nigerian roots, spoke about the game and praised Okoye’s efforts.

In an interview with Match TV, Idowu said that Russia played better overall and probably deserved to win the game.

He also mentioned that Russia had more goal-scoring chances, but they didn’t make the most of them. He added that Okoye helped Nigeria a lot with his saves and was the reason the Super Eagles got a draw.

Idowu noted that there were some tense moments during the match, especially near the end, but overall it was a hard-fought game.