Troost-Ekong Responds to Former Teammates Following Nigeria’s Win Over Gabon”

Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong has fired back at criticism from former teammates Troy Deeney and Michael Lahoud following Nigeria’s 4-1 triumph over Gabon in the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff semifinal in Morocco.

Both Deeney and Lahoud had publicly questioned Troost-Ekong’s leadership ahead of the match. But the Super Eagles’ performance on the pitch left little room for doubt. Troost-Ekong came off the bench to help his team secure a commanding victory and book a place in Sunday’s final against DR Congo.

Speaking in a video shared by Victor Modo, Troost-Ekong described Lahoud’s remarks as uninformed and disrespectful.

“I thought it was very disrespectful. I had to Google what he was talking about me, and I think that if he had done his research about me, maybe he would have come out with a different explanation,” he said.

The defender also stressed that leadership in the Super Eagles is shared across the squad, he said: “We have multiple leaders in this team. Victor Osimhen is a leader in his own right, and we also have Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Moses Simon. We have players who are really coming of age and showing what they can do. I don’t think you can just wipe something away because someone is on the bench; I’ve got 83 caps for Nigeria.”

Troost-Ekong did not hold back on Deeney either, saying: “And also for my teammate [Troy Deeney], I was slightly disappointed because I supported him when he was the captain of my team at Watford. I’ve also gone on to captain Watford. So again, you could have just picked up the phone and called me. If he didn’t respect me, then maybe we should take away the Nigeria shirt that I gave him.”