“Proudest moment” – Troost-Ekong speaks on captaining Super Eagles at the AFCON

Former Super Eagles and Watford centre-back William Troost-Ekong has revealed that captaining Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations is his biggest achievement, Afrik Foot reports.

Born in Harlem, Netherlands, to a Dutch mother and a Nigerian father, the 32-year-old represented Les Oranjes at youth level before a call from the late Stephen Keshi altered the course of his career for the greater good.

Ekong debuted for Nigeria in 2015 and went on to represent the Green and Whites in three AFCON tournaments and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Troost-Ekong speaks on captaining the Super Eagles to the AFCON final

The defender’s biggest outing for the Super Eagles happened about two years ago in Ivory Coast.

Prior to the competition, he’d not received a call-up in over eight months, and doubts were cast over his place in the squad since he’d not been a regular.

However, then coach Jose Peseiro opted to defy the odds. The Portuguese tactician brought the former Torino centre-back into his squad for the AFCON tournament, made him captain, and an anchor in the starting lineup, guarded by Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey.

The result? Ekong played six of Nigeria’s games, despite suffering a hamstring injury in the second game; he played through the injury, scoring three goals – the most by any defender in the history of the tournament.

He was awarded the AFCON 2024 MVP award, although he’d eventually have a hamstring injury that ruled him out for the rest of the season, which saw PAOK win the Greek Super League.

“It was a really amazing experience. The AFCON is a celebration event of the whole continent, a football festival of some of the best names that we know, even in the Premier League,” William Troost-Ekong said on BeIN Sports.

“For me, it was one of the proudest moments of my playing career, it was an amazing tournament for us.

“Sadly it didn’t end the way we wanted, but it’s still one of those moments that’ll be with me for the rest of my life.

“It’s very special, one of the meaningful experiences of my career. It means a lot to Nigerians and Africans.

“I realised the responsibility of the nation, as a player and as a person. It was such a joy,” the Tottenham Hotspur Academy graduate concluded.

After seeing his playing time reduced under Eric Chelle, Ekong bowed out of his national team duties just before the AFCON 2025 kicked off.

In all, he played 83 games for the Super Eagles, scoring eight goals, winning a bronze and silver AFCON medal.