William Troost-Ekong believes the desire to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is enough incentive for the Super Eagles to go all out and defeat the Democratic Republic of Congo in Sunday’s CAF World Cup play-offs final, Footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles edged closer to their dream of booking a place at next summer’s tournament and avoiding a second consecutive no-show on the world stage after dispatching Gabon in dominant fashion during the semi-final.
They now face a tricky test against an in-form DR Congo side that demonstrated their ability to upset stronger opposition by doing away with Cameroon in their own semi-final after securing a narrow 1-0 win.
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With the stakes at their highest, Ekong acknowledged the challenge that lay ahead and insisted that the Super Eagles’ motivation comes from within, fueled by the dream of reaching the World Cup rather than external pressure.
“First of all, the boys are happy to be here competing on Sunday, there’s no other motivation that we need, we all want to go to the World Cup,” the Super skipper told NFF media in his pre-match presser.
“It’s going to be a difficult game. Congo did well to get to the final and we’re really looking forward to it.
“Every game brings a new challenge and I think also for Gabon, they were very dangerous on the counter which the boys dealt with really well.
“But with Congo, I know one or two players in the team, I know they are a good playing side so it’s going to be a different challenge altogether.
“I don’t think you can ever compare teams in Africa. So we have to adapt as we’re starting to create a clear identity and it’s something we want to continue to build on and it’s going to be an interesting game for sure.
“In the last game we sent a clear message from the team and we hope to do the same thing now, we are not trying to prove anything to anyone, we want to prove to ourselves and we want to be at the World Cup so that’s the real focus.”
The winner of Sunday’s CAF World Cup play-offs final will book their place at the inter-confederation play-offs that will take place in March 2026 and stand the chance of becoming the tenth team on Africa’s contingent to the Mundial.
