Nigeria’s former captain William Troost-Ekong has explained his decision to retire from international football just weeks before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the 83-cap Super Eagles defender said stepping away after a decade was “the right time,” even though many Nigerians were stunned by the announcement.
The weight of expectation and subsequent pressure to deliver is one that’s now synonymous with international football.
Fans of all countries rest their dreams on a team of 11, a squad of 23 in total, and a manager tying it all together to achieve national pride.
When that doesn’t happen, chaos ensues. Superstars who were once national heroes for their successes across the globe are quickly labelled villains and become the focal point of what can be an inescapable abuse.
Sometimes, the scriptwriters leave the fate of a nation to the finest of margins. A penalty shoot-out, a late goal, a refereeing decision. Or sometimes the issues tell a tale of wider infrastructural oversights.
For William Troost-Ekong, the now former captain of Nigeria after he decided to call time on a decade-long career as a Super Eagle, that “pressure was a privilege.”
The centre-back will not be at the Africa Cup of Nations. His international retirement will come as a shock to many Nigerians.
Most, who looked forward to righting the wrongs of the 2023 final defeat against Ivory Coast and their most recent failure to reach the World Cup for the second consecutive time, have been left bewildered by the timing. However, it’s a decision that Troost-Ekong has battled with for some time.
William Troost-Ekong. It’s been a pleasure, captain. 🇳🇬
— AfroBallers (@afroballers) December 4, 2025
After representing the Netherlands at U19 and U20 level, Troost-Ekong chose to switch his allegiance to Nigeria.
Olympic & AFCON medals, a World Cup appearance, and eventually the captain’s armband, he gave nine years of… pic.twitter.com/8kVoM6e6fs
“I just felt like the right time for me,” Troost-Ekong told Sky Sports.
“It feels like a chapter is closing. But I also feel happy, I feel proud. I’ve had such a great run with the Super Eagles to be part of the team for over 10 years.
“It’s been such a big part of my identity, something I’ve been so proud of. Just to be part of the team is one of the biggest honours that I’ve had in my life so far.
“For me to grow into becoming a captain of the team is something that I couldn’t have even imagined at the start of it.
“It’s bittersweet, but it just felt like the right time for me.”
Troost-Ekong retires as Nigeria’s ninth-most capped player, with 83 appearances to his name.
His time with the national team was a rollercoaster. There were highs interlinked with the lows, along with doubts and disagreements. Troost-Ekong was part of a Nigeria team that earned a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics before achieving third place at the 2021 AFCON.
In 2023, he led Nigeria to the AFCON final as captain, becoming the competition’s highest-scoring defender ever while also being named Player of the Tournament. A career highlight, scoring in the final to open the scoring, became a low, shipping two goals to hosts Ivory Coast, and losing as favourites for the competition.
