William Troost-Ekong

William Paul Troost-Ekong MON (born 1 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League Greece club PAOK and captains the Nigeria national team.

William Troost-Ekong
Troost-Ekong playing for Nigeria in 2017
Personal information
Full name William Paul Troost-Ekong[1]
Date of birth (1993-09-01) 1 September 1993[1]
Place of birth Haarlem, Netherlands
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 PAOK
Number 15
Youth career
2008–2010 Fulham
2010–2013 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Groningen 2 (0)
2014–2015 → Dordrecht (loan) 32 (0)
2015–2017 Gent 8 (0)
2015–2016 → Haugesund (loan) 37 (3)
2017–2018 Bursaspor 28 (3)
2018–2020 Udinese 65 (0)
2020–2023 Watford 64 (2)
2023 → Salernitana (loan) 9 (1)
2023– PAOK 22 (0)
International career‡
2011 Netherlands U19 1 (0)
2013 Netherlands U20 2 (0)
2016 Nigeria U23 6 (0)
2015– Nigeria 71 (7)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal – third place2016 Rio de Janeiro
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up2023 Ivory Coast
Third place2019 Egypt
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 January 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:10, 11 February 2024 (UTC)

Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family, Troost-Ekong was eligible for both the Netherlands and Nigeria at international level. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 and has since earned more than 70 caps.

Club career

Troost-Ekong attended secondary school at Hockerill Anglo-European College in Bishop’s Stortford, in England. He played football at youth level in England for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur,[3] Troost-Ekong began his senior career in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht.[2][4]

After being linked abroad with transfers to Celtic among others,[3] he signed for Belgian club KAA Gent in July 2015 and was immediately loaned out to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.[5]

In July 2017, Troost-Ekong signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Bursaspor.[6]

On 17 August 2018, Troost-Ekong joined Italian Serie A club Udinese.[7] In his debut season in the Serie A, he made 35 league appearances and was booked four times, helping Udinese to 12th position.[8] The next season, Udinese finished 13th, albeit with two more points. Despite the team's relatively lacklustre league campaigns, Troost-Ekong started (and played for the full 90 minutes) in memorable victories against AC Milan and Juventus in his two seasons at Le Zebrette.

On 29 September 2020, Troost-Ekong signed for EFL Championship side Watford on a five-year contract deal.[9] He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Coventry City on 7 November 2020.[10]

On 24 January 2023, Troost-Ekong signed for Serie A club Salernitana on a loan with the option to buy at the end of the season.[11]

International career
Troost-Ekong training with Nigeria in 2015

Troost Ekong was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother, Eleanore Troost and a Nigerian father. He has two siblings, Emily and Everest.

Despite representing the Netherlands at under-19 and under-20 youth levels,[3] Troost-Ekong eventually chose to represent Nigeria. He made his senior international debut for the Super Eagles on 13 June 2015, playing 90 minutes in an AFCON qualifying match against Chad.[12]

He made three starts for the senior team in 2016 before being selected for Nigeria's under-23 team in their 35-man provisional squad for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.[13] In June 2018 he was named in Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[14]

Troost-Ekong was named in the country's 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations,[15] where he scored an 89th-minute winner against South Africa to send his team through to the semi-finals on the way to a third-place finish.

He captained the Super Eagles in the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations,[16] and was named in the tournament Technical Study Group's Best XI of the Group Stage,[17] scoring against Guinea-Bissau.[18] Nigeria went on to be knocked out by Tunisia in the following round.[19]

During the 2022 World Cup qualification third round, he scored a penalty in the second leg match against Ghana, which ended in a 1–1 draw and a defeat on the away goals rule; hence, his nation failed to reach the main tournament in Qatar.[20]

On 29 December 2023, Troost-Ekong was named in the 25-man squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.[21] He converted a penalty in a 1–0 win in the second group stage match against Ivory Coast.[22] In the semi-final match against South Africa, he scored another penalty to grant his team the lead in a 1–1 draw, before scoring during the shootouts which ended in a 4–2 win.[23] He later scored the first goal in the final match against Ivory Coast which ended in a 2–1 defeat.[24] Nonetheless, he managed to win the Player of the Tournament award.[25]

His tally of five goals at the AFCON is the current record for the highest number of goals scored by a defender in the history of AFCON.[26]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 3 January 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Groningen 2013–14 Eredivisie 20———20
Dordrecht (loan) 2013–14 Eerste Divisie 100——1[lower-alpha 3]0110
2014–15 Eredivisie 22010——230
Total 320100010340
Haugesund (loan) 2015 Eliteserien 130———130
2016 24341——284
Total 373410000414
Gent 2016–17 Belgian Pro League 8000——80
Bursaspor 2017–18 Süper Lig 27240——312
2018–19 1100——11
Total 283400000323
Udinese 2018–19 Serie A 35000——350
2019–20 30010——310
Total 650100000660
Watford 2020–21 Championship 3211000—331
2021–22 Premier League 1701000—180
2022–23 Championship 1511010—171
Total 642301000682
Salernitana (loan) 2022–23 Serie A 91———91
PAOK 2023–24 Super League Greece 10000—12[lower-alpha 4]0220
Career total 25591311015028410
  1. Includes KNVB Cup, Norwegian Cup, Turkish Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearance in Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 11 February 2024[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Nigeria 201540
201650
201780
2018121
2019141
202030
202180
2022102
202300
202473
Total717
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Troost-Ekong goal.[12]
List of international goals scored by William Troost-Ekong
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
128 May 2018Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria DR Congo1–01–1Friendly
210 July 2019Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt South Africa2–12–12019 Africa Cup of Nations
319 January 2022Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon Guinea-Bissau2–02–02021 Africa Cup of Nations
429 March 2022Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria Ghana1–11–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
518 January 2024Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–01–02023 Africa Cup of Nations
67 February 2024Stade de la Paix, Bouaké, Ivory Coast South Africa1–01–1 (a.e.t.)2023 Africa Cup of Nations
711 February 2024Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ivory Coast1–01–22023 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Nigeria U23

Nigeria

Individual

  • Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament: 2023[25]
  • Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2023[30]

Orders

References
  1. "Olympic Football Tournaments Rio 2016 - Men | List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 25 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. William Troost-Ekong at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. "Celtic eye Groningen defender William Troost-Ekong". The Scotsman. 12 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  4. "Profile" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  5. Oluwashina Okeleji (28 July 2015). "Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong joins Gent". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. "Bursaspor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi". www.bursaspor.org.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  7. "UFFICIALE: Udinese, ingaggiato Troost-Ekong" (in Italian). Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  8. "Troost-Ekong Positive On Udinese Future After Escaping Relegation". Complete Sports. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  9. "Troost-Ekong Joins Watford". MySportDab. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. "Watford 3-2 Coventry". BBC. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  11. Adetunji, Joshua (24 January 2023). "Troost-Ekong confirms Watford departure". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. "William Troost-Ekong". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  13. Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  14. Crawford, Stephen (4 June 2018). "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". Goal. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. "Nigeria: Super Eagles' Team List for Afcon 2019". Vanguard (Nigeria). All Africa. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  16. "Afcon should '100% be more respected'". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  17. "Moses, Troost-Ekong among Africa's Best 11 At AFCON". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  18. "William Troost-Ekong Game by Game Stats and Performance". ESPN. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  19. "Afcon last 16: Tunisia stun 10-man Nigeria after Burkina Faso beat Gabon". The Guardian. Reuters. 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  20. "Ghana edge Nigeria on away goals to qualify for Qatar World Cup". ESPN. 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  21. Olu Ibidapo, Ayodele (29 December 2023). "Peseiro names 25 players as Super Eagles seek fourth AFCON title in Cote d'Ivoire". Nigeria Football Federation. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  22. "Ivory Coast 0–1 Nigeria". BBC Sport. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  23. "Nigeria beat South Africa to reach AFCON final in penalty shootout thriller". France 24. 7 February 2024. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  24. "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. 11 February 2024. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  25. "TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d'Ivoire 2023 Awards". CAF. 11 February 2024. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  26. Oyebola, Mike (12 February 2024). "AFCON 2023: Troost-Ekong makes history in Super Eagles' defeat to Cote d'Ivoire". Daily Post Nigeria. Archived from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  27. "W. Troost-Ekong". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  28. "Africa Cup of Nations third-place play-off - Tunisia 0–1 Nigeria - Live - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  29. Stevens, Rob (11 February 2024). "Nigeria 1–2 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  30. "CAF TSG Group releases TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nation Cote d'Ivoire 2023 Best XI". CAF Online. Confederation of African Football. 14 February 2024. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  31. "Afcon: Ivory Coast and Nigeria players get cash, villas and honours". BBC News. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
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