Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has thrown his support behind Ademola Lookman while calling his teammates to remain fully focused ahead of Nigeria’s crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda on Saturday (today) at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Bold Sports reports.
Nigeria head into the encounter under mounting pressure following South Africa’s 3-0 win over Lesotho and Benin’s 1-0 victory against Zimbabwe. The Bafana Bafana now lead the table with 16 points, followed by Benin on 11 and Rwanda on eight while the Super Eagles remain fourth with seven points.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Troost-Ekong praised Lookman’s professionalism and mentality despite his turbulent summer transfer window, which saw a potential move to Inter Milan fall through after Atalanta rejected a €45 million bid.
“Of course the summer transfer window is always particular when you have a team full of very talented players like we always do in Nigeria,” Ekong said. “It’s normal that there’s going to be movement of players making the next step up.
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I think all of us have really followed and are supporting him. The coach said he’s the best player in Africa and from what I’ve seen in these days, he has been even more motivated and he has been the Lookman that we know — consistently professional, working hard and training hard.”
Troost-Ekong made it clear that, despite external distractions, the squad’s full attention is on securing victory against Rwanda.
“I think I can speak on behalf of all the players that everyone who’s here is focused 100 percent on the game tomorrow,” the captain said.
“We have had meetings among ourselves, we had meetings with the coaching staff. There’s been a lot of talk about the importance and gravity of the game, and the only thing I can say is that we are really focused.”
The Al Kholood defender also highlighted the team’s preparation and expressed confidence that the Super Eagles are ready to deliver when it matters most.
“We know what to do. We have worked hard, prepared the right way, and I think you can get confidence from good preparation. That has been very good this week and now it’s left for us to talk on the pitch.”
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