Former Nigerian international Ifeanyi Udeze has questioned CAF’s decision to snub Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong from the 2024 CAF Team of the Year.
Recall that Troost-Ekong had an excellent showing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
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He netted the opening goal in Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the tournament.
In a chat with Brila FM, Udeze stated that Troost-Ekong needed no vote to be in the Africa best XI.
“Troost Ekong is the AFCON MVP; why isn’t he on the Africa best XI?
“He doesn’t need a vote; his place should be automatic,” the one-time Greek winner said on No Holds Barred with Brila.
1 Comment
That CAF Best 11 was a joke. It made no sense to leave out Troost-Ekong who was not only AFCON MVP but also on the initial list of 10 nominees for the African Footballer of the year. How do you explain that one of the four defenders listed by CAF among the best 10 players in Africa, is not worthy of a place in CAF best 11. More intriguing is the case of William Rowen who won the CAF Best Goalkeeper Award, (and also CAF Interclub Player of the Year), but was not the goalkeeper selected for the CAF Best 11. Same for the women version, where Chiamaka Nnadozie won the CAF Best Female Goalkeeper Award, but was not the goalie selected for the CAF Women Best 11.
Only CAF can explain such inconsistencies.