Bursaspor of Turkey defender, William Troost-Ekong has declared that the biggest positive he can pick from Nigeria’s outing at this year’s World Cup is that the Super Eagles have gained a lot in experience, considering the huge lessons they learnt from their three group matches.
Though Troost-Ekong admits he would have loved to help the Eagles go further in the global competition, he is staying upbeat over their chances of doing better four years on, as he believes they would build on the experience gained from Russia 2018.
The former FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht of Holland as well as ex-Haugesund of Norway and KAA Gent of Belgium stopper said the Eagles have a new team spirit, which is now all about unity and togetherness, no longer based on individual desires and bonuses.
With his maiden Mundial now behind him, Troost-Ekong stressed that he hopes what he and the other players gained will lead to a brighter future for the Eagles, following their painful loss to Argentina in their last group match at Russia 2018.
Troost-Ekong stated: “When you talk about that Argentinian team, that’s a team that has experienced all levels, Croatia are the same while Iceland have played the Euros together.
“Everyone was just trying to deal with the loss and move on, so it was a quiet dressing room but definitely one that learnt a lot and hopefully formed some players.
“This is what you need as a team. You need a tournament like this just to learn what it is like to play at this level, under this pressure, in front of the whole world.
“The next time we get to a World Cup, and if we can be part of that with all the players, it will be nothing new to us and it might be easier for us to perform at a higher level.
“All of us are really down to earth and most of us are quite young. I think everyone has got great harmony, everyone wants to work for each other and if we can keep this up then it is definitely promising for the future.”
