William Troost-Ekong says he will sacrifice anything to play for Nigeria at 2023 Afcon

PAOK defender William Troost-Ekong has said he is willing to sacrifice anything to represent the Super Eagles at the African Cup of Nations which begins next month in Ivory Coast.

Troost-Ekong, 30, was not called up by coach Jose Peseiro to play for Nigeria during the last two international breaks, despite being a regular starter for his Greek Super League club, PAOK.

Speaking exclusively with Omasports, following PAOK’s 2-1 win over Frankfurt in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, Troost-Ekong expressed his deep love for his home country, Nigeria and said he will sacrifice anything to play in the Nations Cup once again, just like he did while at Watford.

“You know we had spoken about this with PAOK when I joined them because, at that time, I was the captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria,” the centre-back said.

“And I said yes, we worked very hard as a team to qualify for the AFCON, and of course, it is my dream to go there and win the trophy, so my club is aware of the situation.

“Of course now in the last few months, I have had the situation where I have had to rethink everything, really and it will be a big sacrifice, especially how everything is going here at the club.

“So, I would love to do that again. But you have to feel the appreciation, of course and get the invite, so we will see about that, but I will just keep working hard on my club.

“I will just continue to give my best performances and then we will see what happens.” the former Super Eagles vice-captain said.

Troost-Ekong has made 64 appearances for Nigeria since his debut in 2015.