Friend turn Foe! Caulker fires shot at former Tottenham mate Ekong

When Nigeria and Sierra Leone walk out of the tunnel at the MKO Abiola Stadium on Thursday, both teams could be led out by two former Tottenham academy products.

William Troost-Ekong and Steven Caulker both are expected to captain their respective NTs in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, but any friendly reunion will have to take the back seat.

Speaking ahead of the game, Caulker recalled with some euphoria how He and Ekong developed as academy players of the English Premier League side.

The 30 year-old CB hyped the quality in Nigeria’s team and the impact of new Coach Jose Peseiro in such short period.

However, the Leone Stars captain also pointed that they will play for a win regardless of the Opposition’s, obvious better quality in personnel.

Asked it Sierra Leone will play more for a win or to match Nigeria’s quality, Caulker answered, “For me Tomorrow is all about the three points.”

“That’s what we are here to play for,” Caulker replied. “We are here to get the three points and hopefully qualify out of this group.”

“We are aware they have a lot of big names in their team. I actually used to play with their captain when we were at Tottenham.

“So it’s kind of a nice story that 12 or 13 years later we are facing each other again but in Africa, both also leading their teams.

“We are aware of the qualities they have but for us it’s just about the three points. We have watched a fair bit of their games especially their recent games, obviously with the new Coach coming in they’re playing attractive football.”

“About their defeats in the friendly games, those don’t always reflect how they played and we are aware they’re a threat.

“We are prepared for that and hopefully we can go Tomorrow and make the Sierra Leoneans back home proud.”