There Will Be No Arrogance – Troost-Ekong Speaks On Super Eagles’ Plans For South Africa

08 Sep 2025, 20:24 by Oladipo Abiola · Naija News

The Captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, William Troost-Ekong, says the team would be going for a win against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in their forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Bloemfontein on Tuesday night.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the much-anticipated tie, Ekong said South Africa is a good team, but the Nigerians are focused on grabbing all three points from the match.

He said that the Eagles will play with a level head and without arrogance, adding that they will also not be thinking of their penalty shootout defeat of the Bafana at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire.

He said, “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.

“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.”

Also, Coach Eric Chelle said he would select a team capable of getting all three points in the game against South Africa so the Eagles can stand a better chance of qualification.

“We have come here to play for the three points, so we will be sending out the team that will get the job done. We are happy to have overcome Rwanda but we have to conquer here tomorrow in order to be in a good position for the qualification,” he added.