Former Nigeria and West Bromwich Albion left-back, Ifeanyi Udeze, has questioned the omission of Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, from the 2024 CAF Team of the Year, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Al-Kholood centre-back overturned a disagreement with Jose Peseiro to turn his career with the Nigerian National team around, and captained the Super Eagles to the AFCON 2023 final, scoring three goals alongside, the joint-most in the team.
Following his impressive performance in Ivory Coast, the former Udinese man was given the MVP award at the AFCON 2023 tournament. For PAOK Thessaloniki, Ekong won the Greek Super League before moving to Saudi Arabia.
As CAF unveiled their best eleven during the 2024 CAF Awards in Morocco, the list featured two Nigerians in Victor Osimhen and the eventual player of the year, Ademola Lookman. The back three was completed by Achraf Hakimi, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Chancel Mbemba.
Ekong’s exclusion sparked interesting conversations in the Nigerian media, and Ifeanyi Udeze weighed his thoughts in, questioning why the best player at the AFCON tournament didn’t make the Continents team of the year.
“Troost Ekong is the AFCON MVP, why isn’t he on the Africa best XI? He doesn’t need a vote, his place should be automatic,” the one-time Greek winner said on No Holds Barred with Brila.
While Troost-Ekong didn’t make any statement about his omission, he openly congratulated Ademola Lookman for winning the Player of the Year Award, claiming it was well deserved by the Atalanta forward.
