William Troost-Ekong
William Paul Troost-Ekong (born 1 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club PAOK and the Nigeria national football team.
.jpg.webp) Troost-Ekong with Nigeria in 2017 against Argentina | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Paul Troost-Ekong[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 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 | 3 | (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 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Netherlands U19 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Netherlands U20 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Nigeria U23 | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Nigeria | 64 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:24, 1 October 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:10, 18 November 2022 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family, he was eligible for both the Netherlands and Nigeria in international football. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 and has since earned more than 60 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 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]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 3 June 2023[20]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Groningen | 2013–14 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Dordrecht (loan) | 2013–14 | Eerste Divisie | 10 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Eredivisie | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | ||
| Haugesund (loan) | 2015 | Eliteserien | 13 | 0 | – | – | – | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 28 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 37 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 4 | ||
| Gent | 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Bursaspor | 2017–18 | Süper Lig | 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 28 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | ||
| Udinese | 2018–19 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 0 | ||
| Watford | 2020–21 | Championship | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Championship | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 64 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 2 | ||
| Salernitana (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 9 | 1 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | |||
| PAOK | 2023–24 | Super League Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 235 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 255 | 10 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 17 November 2022[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 2 | |
| Total | 63 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Troost-Ekong goal.[12]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 May 2018 | Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria |  DR Congo | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 10 July 2019 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt |  South Africa | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 3 | 19 January 2022 | Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon |  Guinea-Bissau | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2021 Africa Cup Of Nations |
| 4 | 29 March 2022 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Ghana | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
References
- "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.
- William Troost-Ekong at Soccerway. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- "Celtic eye Groningen defender William Troost-Ekong". The Scotsman. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- "Profile" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- Oluwashina Okeleji (28 July 2015). "Nigerian defender William Troost-Ekong joins Gent". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- "Bursaspor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Sitesi". www.bursaspor.org.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- "UFFICIALE: Udinese, ingaggiato Troost-Ekong" (in Italian). Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- "Troost-Ekong Positive On Udinese Future After Escaping Relegation". Complete Sports. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- "Troost-Ekong Joins Watford". MySportDab. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- "Watford 3-2 Coventry". BBC. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
- Adetunji, Joshua (24 January 2023). "Troost-Ekong confirms Watford departure". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- "William Troost-Ekong". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- Crawford, Stephen (4 June 2018). "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad - Final 23-man lists". Goal. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- "Nigeria: Super Eagles' Team List for Afcon 2019". Vanguard (Nigeria). All Africa. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- "Afcon should '100% be more respected'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- "Moses, Troost-Ekong among Africa's Best 11 At AFCON". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- "William Troost-Ekong Game by Game Stats and Performance". ESPN. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- Reuters (23 January 2022). "Afcon last 16: Tunisia stun 10-man Nigeria after Burkina Faso beat Gabon". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - "W. Troost-Ekong". Soccerway.