William Troost-Ekong retires from international football after World Cup miss

By Dayo Awoniyi

Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong has announced his retirement from international football, bringing an emotional close to a distinguished decade of service following Nigeria’s latest failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

The 30-year-old defender revealed his decision in the dressing room immediately after Nigeria’s painful playoff defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo—a result that confirmed the country’s second consecutive World Cup absence.

According to exclusive information obtained by this newspaper, Troost-Ekong addressed his teammates calmly, stating he would no longer feature competitively for the national team.

Although stepping away from the pitch, the former Watford and PAOK centre-back confirmed he will still travel with the squad to Morocco for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but solely in an off-field, supportive capacity.

He expressed pride in his international journey and offered heartfelt wishes for a successful AFCON—one he had hoped to captain Nigeria into.

Troost-Ekong’s decision marks the end of an illustrious era defined by leadership, consistency, and iconic moments.

Since making his debut in 2015 against Chad in Kaduna, he evolved into one of Nigeria’s most trusted figures in defence. His partnership with Leon Balogun—famously dubbed the “Oyibo Wall”—played a crucial role in securing qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

His crowning individual achievement came at the 2023 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, where a series of commanding displays earned him the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award, despite Nigeria finishing as runners-up.

With Troost-Ekong stepping aside, 19-year-old Benjamin Fredrick is widely tipped to become the next long-term anchor of the Super Eagles’ defence.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation is preparing to unveil its 55-man provisional squad for AFCON 2025. Notably missing from the list will be the name of a player whose influence and leadership defined a generation of Nigerian football. CAF has set December 11 as the deadline for final squad submissions.

Samuel Ahmadu

Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.

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