Ekong: We’re excited to reignite our 2026 World Cup hopes
By Olaolu Joseph
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has revealed that the entire team feels great and relieved to have revived their fading hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He made it clear that Friday’s victory over Rwanda’s Amavubi was the statement the Eagles needed to make as the World Cup race reached its halfway mark.
“It was important to make the statement that we did, and we’re all happy about it and the way we did it. Of course, we have not qualified yet, and there’s still a lot of work to do, but we have started the recovery in a good way, and we just have to keep working hard.
“I don’t want to go into the circumstances that made the first four matches go the way they did. The good thing is we can still recover and revive the campaign, and we have done that.”
Ekong’s firm leadership, along with the attacking prowess of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Moses Simon, was evident and impactful as the Eagles secured a 2-0 win over hosts Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium. The victory brought back memories of the strong squad that impressed at the Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire last year, coming within 23 minutes of lifting the trophy.
As the team arrived at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, on Saturday from Kigali, Ekong told thenff.com that he would be rallying the troops ahead of Tuesday’s crucial clash against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
“We read somewhere that the Zimbabweans are being motivated to come to Uyo and get a result. They should forget it. We are highly motivated by the ambition to play at the FIFA World Cup. Apart from myself, Alex (Iwobi), and perhaps a couple of others who were part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, this generation is hungry to play at the highest level. We want to make Nigeria proud and, at the same time, do ourselves proud.”
A victory on Tuesday evening will take Nigeria to nine points and firmly back in contention for the World Cup ticket, especially if Benin Republic and South Africa cancel each other out at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan.
