Ekong is brave and confident and wants the best for the Eagles as Nigeria tackles the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia on Sunday
By Uzor Odigbo
Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong, has said they are capable of beating any opponent in the ongoing 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
The Nigerian side was drawn against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia on Thursday after the completion of the group stage matches.
The Watford FC defender said they just need to be focused and believe in themselves.
” The competition is now at the crucial stage and we need to remain committed and keep focussing on the task ahead.
“We did well in the group stage, but we can’t dwell too much on that. I believe we can go far in this competition and beat any team.
“What is important is for us is not to lose focus and get overconfident,” he said.
The two teams will clash in Garoua on Sunday evening for a place in the quarter-final of the competition.
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About Ekong
Ekong was born on September 1, 1993. He is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League side Watford and captains the Nigeria national team.
Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family, he was eligible for both the Netherlands and Nigeria in international football. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 and has since earned more than 50 caps. He attended secondary school at Hockerill Anglo-European College in Bishop’s Stortford, near London.
After playing football at youth level in England for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, Ekong began his senior career in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht.[1][3]
After being linked abroad with transfers to Celtic among others, he signed for Belgian club KAA Gent in July 2015 and was immediately loaned out to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.
In July 2017, Ekong signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Bursaspor.
On 17 August 2018, Ekong joined Italian Serie A club Udinese. In his debut season in the Serie A, he made 35 league appearances and was booked four times, helping Udinese to 12th position. The next season, Udinese finished 13th, albeit with two more points. Despite the team’s relatively lacklustre league campaigns, Troost-Ekong started (and played for the full 90 minutes) in memorable victories against AC Milan and Juventus in his two seasons at Le Zebrette.
On 29 September 2020, Ekong signed for EFL Championship side Watford on a five-year contract deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Coventry City on 7 November 2020.