After a crucial 2-0 victory over Rwanda, Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has expressed confidence that Nigeria is firmly back in the race for a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking at Kigali International Airport on Saturday morning before the team’s departure for Nigeria, Ekong said that the win was a statement of intent as the qualifiers reached the 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,”Troost-Ekong.
Of course, we have not qualified yet, and there’s still a lot of work, but we have started the recovery in a good way and we just have to keep working hard,” he said.
After a sluggish start to their campaign, Nigeria’s commanding performance in Kigali —led by the leadership of Ekong and the attacking firepower of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Moses Simon — has rekindled hopes of qualification.
Osimhen’s brace secured all three points at the Amahoro Stadium, bringing back memories of the Eagles’ strong showing at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, where they finished as runners-up.
As the chartered ValueJet Airline’s CRJ-900 aircraft landed at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, on Saturday afternoon, Ekong made it clear that the team is focused on their next challenge, Tuesday’s clash against Zimbabwe.
“We read somewhere that the Zimbabweans are being motivated to come to Uyo and get a result.
“They should forget it. We are hugely 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.”
