Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong, has said that it would have preferred to win the African Cup Nations trophy to be crowned as Player of the Tournament.
Troost-Ekong disclosed this while speaking with CNN Sports.
He lamented that it is difficult to shake off the disappointment of failing to win the title at the 2023 AFCON in Cote D’ivoire.
The Super Eagles came close to winning the AFCON title for the fourth time but lost 2-1 to hosts Cote D’Ivoire in the final.
Troost-Ekong gave Nigeria the lead in the first half but Cote D’Ivoire rallied to win the game through goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
The centre-back, who scored three goals for the Super Eagles in the competition won the Player of Tournament prize.
In his reflection on the Super Eagles outing at AFCON 2023, Troost-Ekong who played for PAOK Salonica in Greece said it was tough to lose the final when they were so close to glory.
“It was bitter-sweet in the end.
“When you get so close all you want to do is win it, and I think the way the tournament played out with some of the more fancied nations got eliminated it just seemed like everything was working for us.
“To lose in the final is hard, but being really honest Ivory Coast were better than us on the day.
“But I brought home Player of the Tournament which is something special and something I wasn’t expecting at all.
“I still would have swapped it for a winner’s medal though,” the centre-defender said.
