Ekong Shares AFCON Dream With Super Eagles After Carragher Downplayed Tournament
- Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, has shared his Africa Cup of Nations goal with the Super Eagles
- Troost-Ekong has featured at the tournament twice but has yet to win it, reaching the final in the 2023 edition
- This revelation comes days after former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher downplayed the tournament
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Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has shared his ultimate goal for the African Cup of Nations days after former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher talked down on the tournament.
Carragher, while rating Mohamed Salah’s chances of winning the Ballon d'Or amid his impressive season for Liverpool, claimed AFCON is not a major tournament that could boost his chances.
Source: Getty Images
According to BSN Sports, the statement is not only disrespectful to the entire African continent but also shows lack of knowledge from a former footballer and pundit who should know better.
African football fans, players and bodies have responded to the statement, sharing the pride of their continental tournaments to someone who never won in his continent.
Ekong shares AFCON dream
Amid the ongoing ruckus, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has fired back at the former Liverpool star and shared his dream of winning the tournament.
“I’ve been there three times now. bronze medal, silver medal, but I haven’t had the chance to win it, so that’s my ultimate goal, and that’s how much it means to me and to all the kids growing up in Africa and Nigeria,” he told Talksport.
Ekong switched his international allegiance to Nigeria in 2015 and has featured at three AFCON tournaments but has yet to win the competition.
He was part of the squad that won the bronze medal under Gernot Rohr in 2019 and captained the team to the final in 2023, scoring in the final against Ivory Coast.
Nigeria qualified for AFCON 2025 and are drawn in the same group as North African powerhouse Tunisia and East African neighbours Uganda and Tanzania.
It could be Ekong’s last AFCON with Nigeria and his last chance to win the tournament. He would be 32 before the end of the 2025 edition and claimed he would make video recordings as memories for his children.
He wanted to film the 2023 edition but stopped because he felt he would not be passing the right message as the captain of the team.
Source: Getty Images
“I actually brought my Gopro(for filming content) to the AFCON and filmed day one, but I couldn’t go on…,” he said.
“I’m conscious of my role in the team now, and I feel like if you’re the captain or someone the younger lads look up to, I don’t know if I give the right message by walking around and filming everything, and trying to maybe instead of being present.”
The Dutch-born defender also featured for Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and could likely feature in the 2026 edition if Nigeria qualifies, which could be his last international tournament.
NFF stopped Ekong from retiring
Legit.ng previously reported that Ekong confirmed that the NFF stopped him from retiring months before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after a rift with Jose Peseiro.
Ekong shook off the incident and capped Nigeria to the final, scoring three goals including in the final, and was named the most valuable player of the tournament.
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Source: Legit.ng
