Was Troost-Ekong named AFCON 2023’s best player on merit?

Cast aside early doors under Jose Peseiro, William Troost-Ekong’s redemption arc at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations means the Man of the Competition prize was not merely a consolation.

You could make a case for several players apart from William Troost-Ekong to be named the best player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. But those alternatives would have question marks regarding their selection.

Despite the incredible narrative-laden Ivory Coast’s journey from being on the brink of a humiliating group-stage exit to clinching a third continental title, no player quite reached the lofty heights to command the individual honour. Simon Adingra, the decisive player in Sunday’s final against Nigeria, did not play significant minutes to command the award. The game’s match-winner, Sebastien Haller, probably falls into the same category as Adingra, even if the centre-forward’s sentimental battle with cancer means you want to look his way.

How about the runners-up? Stanley Nwabali was a breath of fresh air between the sticks, coming in for the error-prone Francis Uzoho, with little or no preparation playing at this level. The Chippa United shot-stopper was thrown in the deep end, having not featured for the side since being on the receiving end of a 4-0 beatdown against Mexico in 2021. However, despite also applying himself admirably, the team’s defensive structure seldom left the shot-stopper exposed.

Ola Aina’s performances leading up to the latter rounds were commendable, with his supreme 1-v-1 defending against tricky wide attackers the highlight of his finals. But not even that was evident in the decider, with the Nottingham Forest wide defender outnumbered and exposed by Nigeria’s structural issues. Considering the forwards, Ademola Lookman’s decisive execution propelled the Super Eagles past Cameroon and Angola, but the Atalanta forward’s influence waned after the quarter-finals, while Victor Osimhen scoring one goal at the finals could count against him, even if the Napoli striker influenced games up until Sunday’s final.

The tournament’s top scorer, Emilio Nsue, exited far too early, while South Africa’s Ronwen Williams’ penalty-saving heroics and pivotal saves put him in the conversation. However, none of these performers outdid Troost-Ekong.

Striking about Troost-Ekong’s return to prominence is that, like Nigeria’s run to the final, this was unforeseen. The 30-year-old could be forgiven for expecting a bit-part role at AFCON 2023, continuing a dispiriting 17 months in the green and white of Nigeria. Ekong had been a Super Eagles mainstay under Gernot Rohr and during Augustine Eguavoen’s brief return, but no sooner had Jose Peseiro taken the helm than he was out in the cold.

The PAOK centre-back was involved in the Portuguese manager’s first pair of friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador and Nigeria’s opening game of AFCON qualifying in June 2022. Unbeknown to many observers, and possibly Ekong himself, that was to be the defender’s last competitive appearance for the Super Eagles until their tournament opener in Cote d’Ivoire. The former Watford defender was uninvolved in the five other qualifying rounds, and his solitary Nigeria showing after facing Sierra Leone in June 2022 came in the unforgettable 4-0 loss to Portugal in November of the same year.

Nigeria had moved on from the other half of the ‘Oyibo Wall’, with Leon Balogun no longer seen at centre-back. Instead, Peseiro leaned on Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey at the heart of the defence in the months leading up to AFCON 2023 and seemed set on the partnership at the finals.

That makes Ekong’s reinstatement and ultimate top-drawer performances gratifying. Unlike Nwabali, he faced different pressures to show he still belonged here after a challenging time without representing his country. Not only did Ekong, who considered international retirement, prove his worth with outstanding defensive showings in a back four and three-player defence, but his leadership was demonstrated and then some.

“I did have that thought of retirement in my mind in November before the AFCON started but I feel like the last three weeks here have re-energised me,” said Ekong to ESPN before Nigeria faced Angola at the concluded finals. “I wasn't sure if I was going to play this AFCON or not and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with the national team either because I was weighing all my options.”

As Peseiro let go of the team’s attacking intent from qualifying for a more defensive approach, the Portuguese needed calm heads at the back, underscored by the reliable Ekong, who never stopped talking to teammates to stay focused — this was evident on Sunday when Nwabali and Osimhen squabbled unnecessarily with the opposition. Those things do not show up on the fancy stats sheets, but the stand-in captain’s leadership was pivotal to the team’s progress. Ekong never shirked responsibility at the back, throwing himself into tackles, often the first to loose balls, winning aerial duels and keeping the rearguard organised.

The game that emphasised the centre-back’s influence in Nigeria’s unexpected run was the semi-final win over South Africa. Not only did he step up again to creep his spot-kick underneath Williams, but his reaction to Bafana Bafana pulling level late on was instructive. With his teammates shaken, the 30-year-old’s leadership was evident as he rallied his colleagues to respond and not mope. 

Heading into penalties, the PAOK man prompted his teammates to retain a positive state of mind, a necessary reminder for a side facing a goalkeeper who thwarted four Cape Verdeans from 12 yards in the previous round. Against Nigeria, Williams saved none, with Aina’s miss being Nigeria’s only failure to hit the target. Troost-Ekong, unsurprisingly, dispatched his kick, continuing a run of barely putting a foot wrong in the competition.

In Sunday’s final, it was no surprise that Ekong struck again, rising higher than the Ivorian defence to head the Eagles into a first-half advantage against the run of play. That goal made the 30-year-old Nigeria’s top-scoring defender at the Cup of Nations, moving ahead of the departed Stephen Keshi, who netted four times at Africa’s premier competition. 

Keshi’s role in winning the Cup of Nations as a player and head coach is remembered fondly, but the late centre-back’s prime years with the Super Eagles at the showpiece came in the 1984 edition when the West African side were defeated by nemesis Cameroon and in 1992 when the West Africans made it to the semis and ultimately ended third. Keshi lifted the trophy in 1994, but Uche Okechukwu was the excellent centre-back of that iteration, playing every game as the Super Eagles claimed gold against Zambia.

Troost-Ekong’s profile is different from that legendary centre-back duo of yore, but his influence at the concluded Nations Cup edged him closer to the pantheon of Super Eagles' defending greats. Winning on Sunday would have earned him a seat at the same table, but it was not to be.

The stand-in captain had netted four times for the Super Eagles before AFCON 2023, a tally that now reads seven after three pivotal strikes at Africa’s premier competition. Five of those goals have been at the Cup of Nations, symbolising Ekong’s leadership, big-game prowess and nerves of steel.

He was Nigeria’s man of the competition. He was Africa’s Man of the Competition.