William Troost-Ekong has praised his Super Eagles teammates for their defensive performance against seven-time champions Egypt in their opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday evening.
The Super Eagles restricted the Egyptians to just two shots on target registered by Mohamed Salah and Mostafa Mohamed.
Nigerian fans were relatively worried ahead of the contest because of Salah's remarkable exploits in the Premier League this season but the Egypt captain was relatively quiet until the 72nd minute when
he got his first effort of the evening but was off balance, allowing
Maduka Okoye to make an instinctive save with his feet.
"The first game was very important, I think we had a good outing, the boys showed well great determination and most importantly to get the result," Troost-Ekong said to News Agency of Nigeria.
"Of course every game I want to get a a clean sheet so it was a team performance.
"It wasn't just about Salah, I think everybody spoke so much about Salah before the game which took the pressure off us.
"I think the whole team defended well against Egypt. They didn't have any chances".
"It wasn't just about Salah, I think everybody spoke so much about Salah before the game which took the pressure off us.
"I think the whole team defended well against Egypt. They didn't have any chances".
Ahead of the upcoming clash against Sudan, Troost-Ekong is urging his teammates not to get carried away by the win
against Egypt, saying they will be treating every game like a final.
"I don't think we should believe in the hype. Every game for us is going to be a big game. We are going to approach it same way as we approached Egypt.
"Game by game we are going to try and get further and further so we'll keep it cool, keep it humble, work hard and I think we've got all the things that we need to get a result on Saturday."
"Game by game we are going to try and get further and further so we'll keep it cool, keep it humble, work hard and I think we've got all the things that we need to get a result on Saturday."
Nigeria have a two-point lead going into the second group games and can qualify for the last sixteen with a win against the Falcons this weekend.
Igho Kingsley
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