Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong says he expects a difficult game when Nigeria face neighbours Cameroon in an international friendly game in Austria on Friday.
Ekong, 27, is among the more experienced stars in the Eagles camp ahead of the double header pre-World Cup qualifier friendly games against the Indomitable Lions in Wiener Neustadt.
“It’s going to be a difficult game. I think we’ve played them a lot in the past couple of years and they’ve always been a difficult opponent,” said Troost-Ekong who is the only player in the current squad that started each of Nigeria’s last three games against Cameroon.
“Yeah, it’s also a team that wants to get a revenge against us because we knocked them out of the World Cup (race) and also at the AFCON, we did the same thing.
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“So, it’s going to be a difficult game and the boys are ready to give a good fight and also to enjoy ourselves. We’ll see what we can do to make sure we finish the season on a high,” added Troost-Ekong.
With the withdrawal of a number of Super Eagles players from the friendly, a number of new faces were called up for the two friendly matches against the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations winners.
Portugal based Abraham Marcus, Turkey based Valentine Ozornwafor and Slovakia based Anthony Izuchukwu are some of the players that could make their Eagles debuts on Friday.
“It’s been good (here in Austria). We’ve got a lot of new faces here in camp and all of us are just going to make sure we have a good game to finish the season and it’s good to see we have a great spirit and everyone is happy to be here,” says the centre back.
Friday’s match will be decided at the 10,000 capacity Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Austria with both teams facing once again at the same venue next Tuesday.
Players in camp:
Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho, John Noble
Defenders: William Troost-Ekong, Valentine Ozornwafor, Chidozie Awaziem, Anthony Izuchukwu, Jamilu Collins
Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Abdullahi Shehu, Abraham Marcus, Samson Tijani
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Paul Onuachu, Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Anayo Iwuala, Terem Moffi, Peter Olayinka
