Nigeria: how Troost-Ekong was saved by Iwobi and Balogun
William Troost-Ekong came close to missing this 34th Africa Cup of Nations after wanting to retire from international football beforehand.
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After the final defeat to Ivory Coast (1-2) at the Africa Cup of Nations, William Troost-Ekong was named "Player of the Tournament". At 30, he still has plenty to offer in a Super Eagles shirt. Yet Troost-Ekong could have missed the latest AFCON 2023 had he not followed the advice of team-mates Alex Iwobi and Leon Balogun. The PAOK (Greece) player was, to general surprise, included in Jose Peseiro's final squad, having gone more than a year without a national team appearance.
And to show he remains a quality defender, Troost-Ekong scored 3 goals in the competition, with the captain's armband on his arm. He proved himself a born leader. At the tournament in Ivory Coast, he was the linchpin of a Super Eagles defence that had kept 4 clean sheets before conceding in the 90th minute of the semi-final against South Africa.
71 caps, 7 goals, 6124 minutes played
After his superb AFCON, Troost-Ekong revealed in an interview with CNN World Sport that he had held conversations with team-mates Alex Iwobi and Leon Balogun. Troost-Ekong added that his discussions with his Nigerian team-mates led him to reconsider his position on his future with the Super Eagles.
Having made his international debut in 2015, Troost-Ekong has 71 caps (7 goals). So far, he has played 3 World Cup matches, 24 friendlies, 16 AFCON matches, 13 World Cup qualifiers and 14 AFCON qualifiers.
Jim CESAY