William Troost-Ekong: Morocco can make history as Africa's World Cup hopes continue

A record 10 African teams qualified for this World Cup. Morocco are the last team standing in the tournament from the continent. To talk more about this, I'm joined by former Nigeria captain William Troussacong here in the studio. Will, thank you so much for coming in and giving up your time. So as I said there, as with Qatar 2022, it's Morocco carrying African hopes into the latter stage of this tournament. They're going to face France in the quarters. Can they get past this French side? I think the Morocco team that we're seeing now has the capabilities. Of course, they're going to be missing the star strike of the tournament, Saibari. But what I've seen from them so far, from the opening game against Brazil until now, they do look like a team that can carry the hopes of the continent further. And yeah, what a rematch this will be today. Absolutely. And how do you think this current Morocco side compares to the one we saw four years ago in Qatar that went out to France in the semis? I think they look more fluid. I think there's a real dynamic side of this team. I love the way they've progressed some of the players from the successful under-19, under-23 teams now to be the part of the first team. The same with the manager. And they play real dynamic style football. They fight. And yeah, I think they are one step further than what they were before, but they're missing some of the experience that they had in the last World Cup. So it's a chance for some new stars to be born. And we've already seen that this tournament. And so Morocco, they were almost joined in the last eight by Egypt. They were just beaten by Argentina in a thrilling match there. But there was a lot of controversy in that one, which led to the Egyptian FA complaining about the standards of refereeing in that match. What did you make of those key decisions? I think it's been one of the things that's probably put a little bit of a downside to this tournament. We've seen it earlier as well, some moments which might have been controversial. In my opinion, I think Egypt got a good case. Of course, the moment the game is played, it's done. But I can understand their frustration because they played an amazing game. I thought they were the better side until the magic man, Messi, turned it around for them. So I can understand where they're coming from. But yeah, I think what Argentina did in the last 15 minutes is something also to be spoken about. And hopefully, we wouldn't see any more games that get decided that way and teams complaining in that sense. Yeah, we could do without the controversy. You mentioned the magic man, Messi, there helping to rescue Argentina once again. Now, you actually played against him at the 2018 World Cup. Can you just give us your memories of what it was like facing him? And do you think he's the best player we've ever seen? To be honest, I think he's a player that is one of the best ever. I think if we talk about players that define the game, players that shape generations, playing against him was something out of this world to an extent where you feel like it's almost surreal that you're watching something like that happen. I think he's a player that has been blessed in a certain sense. But also, he's playing in a team that played for him. And definitely, in my opinion, the greatest of all time. So what he's shown in this tournament, again, at his age now, again, reemphasizes that. And it'll be great to probably see him go further and see if he can do something special and win the back-to-back tournament. But yeah, Lionel Messi is something that we're going to be talking about for many, many years to come. So there were celebrations for Argentina, they got through, Egypt just missing out. But do you think African football is in a good place? Out of the 10 African teams that qualified for this tournament, I think it was nine made it to the knockout. So how encouraging is this? I think it's been a great step for African football. I think for the continent, there's been a great support as well for other teams. Us Nigerians not being there was always a bit difficult. But I think seeing how well the African teams have done is a step forward. I think there's a better structure now, there's a better understanding of how to play this kind of tournament football. And I'm hopeful to see that Morocco can go above and beyond what they did here in Qatar in 2022. But it's definitely an indication of what's happening on the continent. And players are not just performing in the top leagues, also doing that for their country. And like Egypt did, I think they made history and made everyone proud. I think all teams returning home so far, they would have done something special. And now all the hope lies with Morocco to do it tonight again. I'm just going to wind it back a few weeks now. My colleague, Joe, spoke to you just before the tournament kicked off. And you tipped Norway as one of the outsiders. They're doing pretty well. They're having a pretty incredible World Cup, aren't they? Erling Haaland, let's have a word about him. You're a centre-back, so you know all about defending. How do you stop Haaland? I think that's a million-dollar question. Yeah, Erling Haaland has been a difference maker. The thing that I love about him, besides his physicality and his real poise for scoring goals, he's fearless. And I think that he feels like he's carrying the nation. There's a lot of hope in him. But he's very casual about it. All the players that he's playing against, he will have faced them in the Premier League. The same thing will be happening again now for them with Norway. But he's a player that can really crown their generation. But beyond that, similar to Argentina, it's a team that also understands that they can use him and use his power, try to play into his best positioning and get players like Odegaard serving him the ball well. So he's a special player. And I'm happy that I'm standing in the studio here today and not playing against him at the World Cup, because I think he's every defender's nightmare, really. Absolutely. I'm sure the England defenders are having a few sleepless nights right now about facing him. England obviously have a pretty decent striker of their own, their captain Harry Kane. He's been fantastic for them this tournament. So who do you think is going to make the semi-finals? Is it going to be Norway, or is it going to be England? I think that England probably have just the edge over them. Norway has already done something very special. Harry Kane is a player that I know from as a kid we played together in the Academy of Tottenham Hotspur. So a very refined striker. Sometimes I don't think he gets as much credit as he deserves. He's been so consistent over all the years. But not just him. I think Jude Bellingham, another player that can make the difference and has done. But Harry Kane and Haaland, I think it's going to be a real battle. I don't think it's going to be a draw or a 0-0 match. But I think England will slightly edge it. And just really quickly, we've got 30 seconds. You said earlier on you were hoping that Morocco can surpass what they did in Qatar. So do you tip them to win the tournament? Who is going to win this World Cup? I have a feeling that Morocco will win today against France. I think they've got the quality there. And if they do, I think it might be a situation that they'll be all the way in the final. And yeah, my hope is for Morocco to win the tournament. Well, we will see. They kick off in a few hours against France. William, Theresa Conk, thank you so much for joining us in the studio. It's been fascinating to get your insights. Thank you very much.