Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong slammed home the spot kick that drowned Cote d’Ivoire Elephants in Thursday’s crucial group A encounter of the African Nations Cup to give Nigerians fans much more to cheer.
Top striker Victor Osimhen had won the penalty awarded after a VAR review, but many were surprised to see Troost-Ekong stepping up. He sent the Ivorian keeper the wrong way much to the delight of the team that had worked all day to earn the victory.
“Victor is our first choice. He said he wanted me to take it,” Troost-Ekong told BBC Sport Africa.
“Of course I couldn’t say no.
“We practiced penalties and I took one against Ghana. Maybe it was the moment of the game [but] I was feeling good.
“I would also have been happy for him to take it but I’m sure he’s going to score many more goals for us.
“I enjoy moments like this, I enjoy the big games,” Troost-Ekong added.
“Pressure is for people trying to think how they can feed their family every day – not for us. We play football and we practice for moments like this.
“We are very happy we came with a clear game plan, we knew that we were going to play against a very good team – we also knew we could outfight them.
“We have so much talent in this team. We looked like a real team, we suffered together as well but in the end our talent showed.”
Osimhen said he was glad the penalty was converted and it does matter who took it.
“For me I don’t mind. I can take it and if I score or I miss, it is part of the game,” the striker said.
“But of course he took it and he scored it, and it shows great leadership. The team winning is the most important thing.”
