Stand-in captain William Ekong has said the current Super Eagles will be the new “Golden Generation” of Nigeria football should they win next year’s AFCON in Cameroon.
“We had that golden generation of the Olympics (Atlanta 96 with Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha and Oliseh) that’s unmatched,” he told The Times of London.
“That’s the standard which everyone believes we should be able to hit.
“If we win the next AFCON, we could be the new ‘generation’.
“It won’t be easy.”
He also admitted there is a lot of pressure that goes with playing for the Super Eagles.
Ekong has often stood in for captain Ahmed Musa on international duty and he has now opened up that there is often a lot riding on every game involving the Nigeria national team.
“There’s a pressure playing for Nigeria,” Ekong said.
“There is always expectation through passion.
“There’s so much going on in the country, and so many moments if turmoil that whenever we play well as a team that really unites the country.”
The Watford defender said he would play in a red-list country if Nigeria’s World Cup hopes were riding on such a game.
“If we would have lost the game versus Cape Verde (Nigeria won without the Premier League players), if the next game was in a red list country then I might say I want to play because it would mean (going to) the World Cup (in Qatar),” he said.
