Super Eagles captain calls Boniface a world-class player and strong candidate for African POTY

Al-Kholood central defender William Troost-Ekong was the Super Eagles player selected to attend the pre-match press conference on Thursday evening, an indication that he will be named in the starting lineup for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Libya at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

With seventy three caps to his name since his debut, Troost-Ekong is the second most experienced player in the current Super Eagles squad, only behind Fullham midfielder Alex Iwobi who has amassed 81 caps.

Several players in the squad are lacking international experience, with the likes of Amas Obasogie, Bruno Onyemaechi, Alhassan Yusuf, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Taiwo Awoniyi, Chidera Ejuke and Victor Boniface having less than ten caps each.

When questioned about his role in bridging the gap between the new and veteran players in the team, Troost-Ekong spoke glowingly about Bayer Leverkusen forward Boniface.

Troost-Ekong heaped praise on Boniface, describing him as a world-class striker and a strong contender for the 2024 African Footballer of the Year.

“We have some players with a lot of caps now with the national team that have to help the guys. We spoke about Boniface before who is a world-class player in my opinion,” Troost-Ekong told reporters in Uyo.

"Someone has also mentioned African Player of the Year for what he did for his club. Like anyone he has come  here with us now, he has been a few times, and with players like that that have all the talent, they don't need any help.

"On the pitch, we just try to to make them feel at home and we have that spirit now. Everyone who comes in, they feel free to express themselves, to be themselves and that's when we see the best performances.

"That's what we try to do as a group and it's not only myself, there are some other players that have many caps so we are all working that together."

A modern day striker, Boniface has tallied 98 goal involvements (67 goals, 31 assists) in 160 games as a professional.

On the flip side, the 23-year-old fired blanks in his first eight appearances for the Super Eagles. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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