By Teddy Nwanunobi
Ahead of Tuesday’s Group L clash against England in Foxborough in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, former Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has backed Ghana for surprise, saying that he “would love Ghana to go and do well.”
Daily NewsCraft reports that there is a fierce rivalry between the Super Eagles and the Black Stars. The most recent World Cup qualifying meeting between both sides saw Ghana deny Nigeria a place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Despite the fierce rivalry, the Al Ahli Doha centre-back, who is working as a pundit for SuperSport at the World Cup after announcing his international retirement last year, revealed that he is still rooting for Ghana.
He said he would love to see Ghana succeed, beginning with their next group game against England.
“I would love Ghana to go and do well. I think the beauty of the World Cup, and I think all the teams, even when we’ve been at the World Cup before, we want to see the other African teams do well. I think it’s very important for the continent.
“Besides the rivalry, where we play against each other often, there’s also a lot of love for each other because we know the players well. Maybe from my perspective now, having retired from the national team, it’s easier to say that.
“I was very happy with their performance against Panama. Leading up to the game against England, there were a lot of positives. I thought they looked very resilient in that game. I think the introduction of the substitutes in the second half, especially Brandon Thomas-Asante and Abdul Fatawu, made a really big difference. I think they’ve given England something to think about,” he said.
Ghana started their campaign with a hard-fought 1–0 win over Panama last Thursday, with Caleb Yirenkyi scoring a 95th-minute winner to deny Panama their first-ever World Cup point in Toronto, Canada.