Troost-Ekong dreams UCL after breaking PAOK duck

Super Eagles captain Willian Troost-Ekong is setting his sights on playing in the UEFA Champions League with Greek giants PAOK after scoring the winner during their 3-2 win over Borac Banja Luka in the UCL qualifiers on Wednesday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The defender scored what would be his first goal for the club with a towering header in the 51st minute of the game, rising to meet a cross from Kiril Despodov. Their opponents had been stubborn on the night, having cancelled out PAOK’s 2-0 lead.

The 30-year-old defender also scored his first club goal since May 27, 2023, when he scored for Salernitana in a Serie A game against Udinese.

In the wake of their win, Troost-Ekong wrote on X on Thursday, “133 days later. Let’s go! #UCL.”

Troost-Ekong has been a regular for PAOK since he joined the club last year. And despite his long-term injury that kept him out of action for the second half of last season, he retained his place after he returned to action.

He hopes to guide the club into the next round when they travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the second leg next Wednesday.

If they progress to the next round, they will face the winner of the tie between Celje (Slovenia) and Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava.

His goal on Wednesday night was also his first goal since scoring for Nigeria during the AFCON final earlier this year. He sustained an injury during the tournament and had to undergo surgery after winning the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Award.

The defender missed about three months of action for rehabilitation due to a ruptured biceps femoris in his right leg.

He scored three goals at the AFCON, including a powerful header against Ivory Coast in the final, which Nigeria lost 2-1.

With five goals at three AFCON tournaments, the 33-year-old became Nigeria’s highest-scoring defender in the history of the tournament, the second Nigerian defender after Christian Chukwu to win the prestigious Man of the Tournament award and the first defender since Rigobert Song won it at the 2002 edition in Mali.