Daniel Akpeyi will once again be thrown in the front line when Nigeria face South Africa in a quarter-final match at the AFCON 2019 on Wednesday and the goalkeeper has received a huge vote of confidence from a former Super Eagles captain.

Akpeyi, who is Nigeria’s first choice goalie at the AFCON, has played three games – keeping two clean sheets.

The Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper will face some familiar names in the Bafana Bafana team on Wednesday; players the 32 year-old played with or against in the PSL.

Last season, Akpeyi moved from Chippa United to Kaizer Chiefs in the January transfer window and had a fairly decent period with Amakhosi.

However, his ratings in the PSL hasn’t affected the goalkeeper’s performance for the Super Eagles according to former Nigeria midfielder Austin Okocha.

“We are not bothered about your opinion, we are not bothered about how well he is doing in South Africa. We are happy that he is here because the South African league for us is one of the best in Africa, if not the best,” Okocha said.

“We are happy that you’ve provided him with that good platform to improve and I think he is improving.

“When he comes to the national team it’s a different ball game, you know. For me he is rightly our number one choice now and the more games he plays, the more confident he gets and he will get better.

“I’m not judging him on his stats here in South Africa, but what he’s doing for the national team.”