Afcon 2023: Osimhen asked William Troost-Ekong to take Nigeria penalty

Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong says striker Victor Osimhen asked him to take what proved to be the match-winning penalty in their Group A victory over Ivory Coast at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Osimhen, the African Footballer of the Year, was fouled early in the second half to win the spot-kick and is the team’s designated penalty taker.

But the 25-year-old Napoli star, who was leading scorer in Serie A last season, passed duties on to the centre-back – perhaps based on the latter’s successful penalty against Ghana in a 2022 World Cup qualifier.

“Victor is our first choice he said he wanted me to take it,” Troost-Ekong, 30, told BBC Sport Africa.

“Of course I couldn’t say no.

“We practice penalties and I took one against Ghana. Maybe it was the moment of the game [but] I was feeling good.

“I would also have been happy for him to take it but I’m sure he’s going to score many more goals for us.”