Former Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong announced his retirement from international football on Thursday after his team failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and just 19 days from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Coach Eric Chelle had included the defender in his preliminary 54-man squad for the AFCON, which starts on December 21. Nigeria will face Tanzania in the opening match of Group C two days later.
The central defender from Saudi Arabia was named Player of the Tournament during the previous edition in Ivory Coast. He opened the scoring in a 2-1 final defeat to the host nation.
His last appearance for the Super Eagles was a 2-1 win over Lesotho in a 2026 World Cup qualifier two months ago.
A few days later he was a substitute as Nigeria crushed Rwanda 4–0 to finish second in Group C, behind automatic qualifiers South Africa.
Nigeria was given a second chance to qualify for the global showpiece as one of the top four African runners-up. Nigeria defeated Gabon, but lost on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo and were eliminated.
Troost-Ekong was an unused substitute in both play-offs in Morocco, with Chelle preferring Fulham’s Calvin Bassey and West Bromwich Albion’s Semi Ayaji as his centre-backs.
In a post on social media, the 32-year-old defender said 83 times that playing for Nigeria was the greatest privilege of his life.
“The journey may end here but my support never will,” he wrote as his 10-year career with the Super Eagles came to an end.
Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi from Turkey replaced Troost-Ekong as captain in the World Cup play-offs in Rabat.
Nigeria, three-time winners of the most important African football tournament, will also face Tunisia and Uganda in the group stage.
The Mini League winners, runners-up and the top four of the six third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16.
Meanwhile, Angola coach Patrice Beaumelle has criticized a decision by FIFA to shorten the preparation time for the 24 countries heading to Morocco.
According to a directive from the global body, players are not required to be released until December 15 instead of the usual two weeks before the AFCON kicks off.
“FIFA only needs Africa during the elections, but does not value our competitions such as AFCON and does not give them the recognition they deserve,” the recently hired French tactician told Angolan media.
Angola – which is in Group B with seven-time champions Egypt, former winners South Africa and Zimbabwe – had planned a training camp in Portugal from December 8.
Published on December 5, 2025
