Sport
Troost-Ekong Praises Osimhen and Lookman After Super Eagles’ Win Over Rwanda
Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has praised Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman after their impressive performance in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Rwanda in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Osimhen was the hero of the night, scoring both goals at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on Friday. Lookman, recently named Africa’s best player, also played a key role by providing an assist.
Troost-Ekong, who plays for Al Kholood in Saudi Arabia, described Osimhen and Lookman as two of the best players in the world. He highlighted their contributions but emphasized the importance of the team effort.
“Victor Osimhen is an incredible player. I believe he’s one of the best in the world, alongside Ademola Lookman, who’s Africa’s best player. But I don’t want to focus on just them,” Troost-Ekong said.
“It was a collective effort. We had Tolu (Arokodare) making his debut, and Alhassan Yusuf had to play out of position, but the team spirit was there, and that made the difference.”
The victory marked the Super Eagles’ first win in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and their first triumph over Rwanda in Kigali after four previous attempts.
Troost-Ekong admitted that it was a tough game but credited the team’s hard work and preparation.
“Playing Rwanda is never easy. We’ve faced them a few times, and they’re a team we respect,” he said. “We had only two or three full training sessions and a lot of video analysis. But today, you could see signs of what to expect under coach Eric Chelle.”
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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