Al-Kholood of Saudi Arabia defender, William Troost-Ekong will approach the last quarter of this year with two targets on his mind – help Nigeria qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and then go on to excel at the African Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Sports247 gathered that the double-pronged burning ambition spurring Troost-Ekong will get its first test in September, when the Super Eagles host Rwanda and visit South Africa at the restart of the World Cup qualifiers.
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The momentum will then shift into the next month, as the Eagles are billed to play away to Lesotho and then host Benin Republic at the end of the race to USA-Canada-Mexico 2026.
Their last match at home versus Benin Republic would determine whether the first part of Troost-Ekong’s dream would be possible, as he is keen on playing at next year’s Mundial, which he hopes to attend as winning captain of the next AFCON.
To realise that target, the Super Eagles’ current captain has to marshal the squad through the group stage of the next AFCON in December and ensure they win the final in January, as the upcoming edition will be the first ever to spill over into two years.
Dramatically, Troost-Ekong scored in the last final and was named player of the tournament, but he fell short of winning the trophy in what was his third AFCON experience – including bronze in 2019 and early ouster in 2021.
It is also noteworthy that the in-form centre back, who will clock 32 years on September 1st, has scored in each AFCON he has played in – versus South Africa in 2019, against Guinea Bissau in 2021 as well as versus South Africa and then Cote d’Ivoire twice at the last edition.
His haul of five goals overall is a record for any defender ever in AFCON history, but Troost-Ekong is not satisfied with personal and individual honours – he desperately wants to become a champion of Africa.
Though born in Harlem, Netherlands and educated at Bishop’s Stratford in England, Troost-Ekong opted to play for his father’s country and got his debut with Nigeria in an AFCON qualifier against Chad Republic on July 13, 2015.
Just over 10 years down the line, the star with 78 international appearances and seven goals, plus an Olympic Games bronze medal with the U23 Eagles at Rio 2016, is not thinking of quitting until he realises his burning ambitions – win AFCON and play at the World Cup.
Troost-Ekong (which is a combination of his mother’s maiden name with his father’s surname) cast his mind back to his early days of following the Nigerian team and disclosed that his passion had been for the three-time African champions all along.
He recounted, “Growing up in Netherlands, I usually watched Super Eagles very well on TV whenever my dad was with us at home.
“Playing for Nigeria was something I dreamt of, but it was something like a far dream for me, because I was living in the suburb of Amsterdam.
“I soon got that chance to play for Nigeria, and Stephen Keshi gave me my debut when I was 21. Since then, I’ve never looked back.”
He prefers looking to the future, but that does not mean he will not reflect on the past and learn from his experiences through the years.
Part of the experience has been at club level, where he has played for 12 different teams at various stages of his career – Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Watford of England, Groningen and Dordrecht of Netherlands, KAA Gent of Belgium, Haugesund of Norway, Bursaspor of Turkey, Udinese and Salernitana of Italy, PAOK Saloniki of Greece and now Al-Kholood of Saudi Arabia.
He admits his career has been edifying, especially after he was named by global football governing body, FIFA, among the world’s best defenders, but Troost-Ekong insists the real McCoy for him remain an AFCON title and playing at the 2026 Mundial (as a sequel to his roles at Russia 2018).
“When I look at my career now, and whenever I speak to anyone in the world about different things, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.
“Whether it’s playing in the Premier League or the Serie A, it always gets chunked by what I’ve achieved with the Super Eagles … but I’m not done yet.
“I still want to win an AFCON, and I want to play at the World Cup. Those would be things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Troost-Ekong concluded emphatically.
