‘There will be no arrogance’ – Nigeria defender Troost-Ekong insists ahead of South Africa clash

The captain of Nigeria, William Troost-Ekong, has stressed that the Super Eagles will play with focus on Tuesday when they face the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Speaking in a pre-match interview, the experienced defender said that although the Super Eagles defeated the Bafana Bafana during the last Africa Cup of Nations tournament, they won’t be arrogant in their approach in the upcoming game.

“We defeated them at the Africa Cup, but that is in the past, and some changes have been made to both teams since then. Our approach will be devoid of arrogance; we will play with level heads and go all out for victory. There will be no arrogance, but we will not be diffident either,” Troost-Ekong said.

He added, “South Africa is a good team that we respect, but we just have to go on the pitch and play our game. Our objective has not changed; we want to go to the FIFA World Cup finals next year.”

Tuesday’s crunch meeting between South Africa and Nigeria is scheduled to kick off at 5 pm at Toyota Stadium.