William Troost-Ekong is reportedly considering retirement after Nigeria’s World Cup qualifier exit, with young defender Benjamin Fredrick emerging as a potential successor.
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong is reportedly considering drawing the curtain on his decade-long international career following Nigeria’s painful exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The team’s fate was sealed by a shootout defeat to DR Congo in the CAF playoff final, which took place in Morocco.
According to a report from Soccernet.ng, CAF-accredited journalist MikeThePundit revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that the 32-year-old centre-half told his teammates in the dressing room after the loss that he was contemplating retirement.
The journalist quoted Ekong as saying: “I will watch you as a fan at the AFCON.”
If confirmed, this would be a stunning development for a player long regarded as the “emotional heartbeat” of the squad, who made his Nigeria debut in 2015.
Troost-Ekong helped Nigeria win bronze at the 2019 AFCON, earned a spot in the tournament’s group-stage Best XI at the 2021 edition, and powered the Super Eagles to the 2023 AFCON final as captain, where he was named Player of the Tournament.
In recent months, Ekong has been used sparingly, with Wilfred Ndidi taking over captaincy duties and 20-year-old Benjamin Fredrick emerging as a key defensive talent.
Coach Eric Chelle defended his decision to start Fredrick, stating: “This is my choice. My job is to make decisions. Winning proves the decision was good.” Ekong has publicly backed the youngster, telling NFF TV:
“Benjamin is humble, hardworking and very talented… I’m looking forward to seeing him continue his development and become important for the team.”