Watford of England defender, William Troost-Ekong is leading the battle cry for Nigeria’s national team, ahead of their reverse fixture against Sierra Leone in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, as he says he and his colleagues in the Super Eagles are hungry for redemption.
While affirming that the Eagles are ready to take the battle to their hosts in Tuesday’s second leg at Siaka Stephens Stadium in Freetown, the stopper on loan from Udinese of Italy declared emphatically that the Nigerian lads are determined to make up for how they let slip a four-goal lead in Friday’s 4-4 draw at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
The former Tottenham Hotspur of England youth team player, who has also starred for Haugesund of Norway, Dordrecht of Holland, KAA Gent of Belgium and Bursaspor of Turkey, added that only victory is the word on their mind heading into Tuesday’s game, which he promised would a better result for Nigerian soccer fans to cherish.
He reiterated how disappointed and apologetic all players in the Eagles are on account of their embarrassing draw in the Edo State capital, for which Troost-Ekong stressed that the Eagles will redeem themselves after the disappointing 4-4 draw at home with the Leone Stars in Benin City.
The Eagles gave up a four-goal lead to draw with Sierra Leone in the first leg, but Troost-Ekong says it will be a different ball game when both teams will clash again on Tuesday in continuation of the qualifying series.
Nigeria still lead Group L with seven points from three matches, while Benin Republic are now second on six points, with Sierra Leone third with two points and Lesotho bottom on a point, with only the top two teams billed to advance into AFCON 2022 in Cameroon.
Troost-Ekong concluded with a verdict that he is counting on the never-say-die Nigerian spirit for the Eagles to win in Freetown and eventually pick top spot in the group, en route to Cameroon 2022, adding: “It is our Naija spirit to overcome and succeed. We are) hungry and ready for redemption Tuesday.”
