New Nigeria international defender Benjamin Fredrick says captain of the team William Troost-Ekong helped in getting him prepared for playing for the Super Eagles in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Fredrick broke into the team during the Unity Cup tournament in England, when he was called as a replacement for Ahmed Musa who left the camp of the team before the final match against Jamaica.
He distinguished himself in the game, and kept his spot in the team for the friendly game against Russia where he was an unused substitute with Ekong returning and taking his spot.
However in the world cup qualifiers game against Rwanda, head coach Eric Chelle took a shocking decision to start the 20 year old, and has since kept him in his team for all of the four games played since then.
” When I came in it was my mentor Moses Simon who told me to enjoy the moment because I have earned the right to be in the team. I won’t lie when it was mentioned that I will be starting against Rwanda I was tensed until Ekong walked up to me and said you can do it”, Fredrick reveled in an exclusive chat.
” After the game he had nothing but nice words for me and since then always makes sure he checks up on me regularly. He is a wonderful person to have as captain of the team”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
