FORMER Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has warned that Nigeria cannot continue to rely solely on its abundance of talent, calling for greater consistency and stronger structures across the national team.
News Point Nigeria Sport reports that Troost-Ekong, speaking on beIN Sports, said stability was needed from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the coaching staff and players if the Super Eagles are to maximise their potential.
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“We’re at a point where we need to see some consistency, I think, from the top down, talking from the federation to the coach to this group of players. I think the talent is there in abundance,” he said.
The former defender also backed the NFF’s decision to retain Eric Chelle on a long-term basis, while noting the uncertainty surrounding the organisation of the national team.
“I think what we’re seeing now is still some uncertainty about how things are prepared for the team. I think that appointing Eric Chelle now for the long term has been the right thing to do. He’s also in charge of the Olympic team,” Troost-Ekong said.
Chelle agreed to a new arrangement with the NFF in June that also placed him in charge of Nigeria’s U-23 team, with the structure intended to strengthen the pathway between the youth and senior national teams.
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Troost-Ekong, who retired from international football in December 2025 after a decade with the Super Eagles, stressed that individual quality would only take Nigeria so far without a solid foundation.
“So that consistency is number one. But I do think that the team needs the structure and the backbone, and we can’t just rely on the talent alone because I think we’ve managed to cover a lot of gaps over the years,” he said.
He warned that those weaknesses could become more exposed as the standard of African football continues to rise.
“But now, over time, those things will get exposed and, yeah, they need to have the right structure around it because for any team playing in Africa, the level is continuously increasing from the other teams,” he added.
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Troost-Ekong urged the Super Eagles to ensure they have the right conditions to compete and called for consistency under Chelle.
“So you need to make sure that you give yourself the best opportunity to win. And I think now, with this coach, hopefully they can find some consistency and take the qualifiers seriously from the beginning. And then I think we’re all going to see some great things from Nigeria again,” he concluded.
