{"id":123016,"date":"2025-10-15T15:54:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=123016"},"modified":"2025-10-15T15:54:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:54:28","slug":"ekong-vows-total-focus-as-eagles-eye-world-cup-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ekong-vows-total-focus-as-eagles-eye-world-cup-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Ekong Vows Total Focus as Eagles Eye World Cup Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1846053930443050721\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1846053930443050721-header\" class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1846053930443050721-content\" class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has pledged full commitment and focus from the team as Nigeria prepares for next month\u2019s CAF World Cup play-offs.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Udinese defender said the squad was determined to finish the job after a convincing 4\u20130 win over Benin Republic in Uyo secured their place in the play-offs.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe would have loved to seal automatic qualification, but since that didn\u2019t happen, we\u2019ll take what we have and fight till the end,\u201d Ekong said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He praised the players\u2019 unity and determination, saying the victory showed what could be achieved when everyone gave their all.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cEveryone contributed to that win. Each player played his part, and that\u2019s the same spirit we\u2019re taking into the play-offs,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ekong urged fans to keep faith with the team, insisting that the Super Eagles were mentally ready to secure their spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe\u2019re focused, strong, and ready for any challenge. Our supporters should stay behind us till the final whistle<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Nothing is impossible,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nigeria will face Gabon in the semi-final of the CAF play-offs on November 13, while Cameroon will meet DR Congo in the other tie on November 14.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0The winners will clash in a one-off final on November 16, with the victor heading to the intercontinental play-offs in Mexico next March.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The expanded 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will feature 48 teams,\u00a0 the biggest in the tournament\u2019s history.<\/div>\n<div id=\"m_-2997527268134254860ymail_android_signature\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has pledged full commitment and focus from the team as Nigeria prepares for next month\u2019s CAF World Cup play-offs. The Udinese defender&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ekong Vows Total Focus as Eagles Eye World Cup Spot - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/ekong-vows-total-focus-as-eagles-eye-world-cup-spot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ekong Vows Total Focus as Eagles Eye World Cup Spot - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has pledged full commitment and focus from the team as Nigeria prepares for next month\u2019s CAF World Cup play-offs. 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