Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong has praised Gernot Rohr’s Benin Republic for their spirited performance in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw during their penultimate AFCON 2025 qualification match at Stade Félix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast.
The draw secured Nigeria’s qualification for the tournament in Morocco, but not without challenges. Benin opened the scoring in the 16th minute through a cleverly executed set-piece by Mohammed Tijani. Nigeria equalized late in the match, thanks to Victor Osimhen’s header in the 81st minute.
Reflecting on the match, Troost-Ekong commended Benin’s tactical approach and highlighted a key moment when Osimhen was off the pitch, allowing the Cheetahs to capitalize.
“I want to congratulate our coach and team for achieving our primary objective of qualifying for AFCON. Our aim was to win this game, but we must give credit to Benin. They had a solid game plan and took advantage of the moment we were a man down,” Troost-Ekong told NFF Media.
Despite the tough encounter, Troost-Ekong lauded Nigeria’s resilience and unbeaten record in the qualifiers.
“It was a fair result. We’re delighted to qualify while maintaining our unbeaten run. Benin posed a threat, but we showed character to secure the needed point.”
With qualification secured, the Super Eagles will shift focus to their final group-stage match against Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Monday.
