Afrigather 
The PAOK defender made his Nigeria debut in 2015 after earlier enjoying for the Netherlands at youth stage
Tremendous Eagles stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong has confessed that he practically stop the nationwide workforce weeks earlier than the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after a disagreement with coach Jose Peseiro, Soccernet.ng studies.
Troost-Ekong was certainly one of Peseiro’s most dependable defenders when the Portuguese tactician was employed in 2022 to take cost of the Tremendous Eagles.
However cracks had been noticed within the relationship between the 2 males when Peseiro snubbed Troost-Ekong for Nigeria’s two World Cup qualifiers towards Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.
Troost-Ekong has now confessed that he was ignored for these matches as a result of he had a spat with Peseiro.
The previous Watford defender revealed he thought-about quitting the nationwide workforce after the incident.
Nonetheless, a number of household and mates helped him rediscover the love that made him dump the Netherlands for Nigeria 9 years in the past.
“[It] resulted in us not really talking for a number of months,” Troost-Ekong informed CNN World Sport.
“That was the time the place my delight and ego, I feel possibly received the higher of me. I thought of stopping.
“Fortunately, I’ve received an excellent group of individuals round me who took me out of it.
“[It] made me take into consideration my youthful self and, how a lot it meant and the way proud I used to be to play my first recreation [for Nigeria].
“I deserved to offer my youthful self a greater ending. In order that was the factor that modified my thoughts … I feel my profession has all the time been a testomony of not giving up.”
Troost-Ekong returned for the AFCON, and it turned out to be one of the best choice for the defender and the Tremendous Eagles.
The previous Udinese man delivered arguably his finest performances within the green-and-white package, serving to Nigeria attain the ultimate and successful a silver medal.
Troost-Ekong was additionally named the Most Invaluable Participant of the Event, turning into the primary defender since Senegal’s Rigobert Music in 2002 to win the Greatest Participant award on the AFCON.
