The Tremendous Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has not hidden {that a} telephone name from past due schoolmaster Stephen Keshi and the chance of global soccer at week 21 influenced his choice to constitute Nigeria rather of his nation of delivery, the Netherlands, PUNCH Sports activities stories.
The Al-Kholood defender, talking at the Sports activities Afterparty Podcast, defined that the chance to play games for Nigeria got here at a a very powerful level in his occupation.
“Just at the start of the season, I had played for the Dutch U19 and U20 squads, but there was no real perspective yet for the first team,” Troost-Ekong stated.
“The choice was between trying to progress and later in my career maybe have a chance to play for the Netherlands or have a chance now to play for the Super Eagles, who were kind of going through a transition stage where a lot of their defenders at that time were a little bit older, so I knew that they wanted to make some changes there.”
The 30-year-old defender has turn into one in all Nigeria’s maximum constant performers since making his debut 10 years in the past, forming himself as a key determine within the group sooner than assuming the captaincy on an period in-between foundation 3 years in the past at AFCON 2021.
In line with IFFHS, the Harlem-born holds the report for many targets by way of a defender at AFCON with 5, together with 3 in one match. His performances have earned him a nomination for the CAF Males’s Participant of the Pace award then profitable the Absolute best Participant award at AFCON 2023.
In the meantime, forward of Thursday’s (lately) 2025 AFCON qualifier towards Benin Republic in Ivory Coast, Troost-Ekong has pushed aside considerations about complacency regardless of Nigeria wanting only a level to qualify for the match in Morocco.
“The match is not going to be an easy one because the Beninoise are also chasing a ticket to the final tournament. However, our objective is clear: three points on the night,” he instructed NFF TV on Tuesday.
The sport might be performed on the Stade Houphouet Boigny, the place Benin surprised Nigeria 2-1 within the 2026 International Cup qualifier previous this yr, regardless that the Eagles even have fond reminiscences of the venue from their AFCON 2023 marketing campaign.
Troost-Ekong is one in all a number of dual-nationality avid gamers recruited by way of the Nigeria Soccer Federation within the day 15 years, a technique that has helped beef up the nationwide group with abilities from the diaspora.