The central defence partnership of Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong has earned praises from the coach of the Nigeria national team Gernot Rohr for their performance in the 1-0 win over Zambia which secured Nigeria a spot at next year World Cup.

Balogun and Ekong have been the favourite pair for Rohr since he took over as coach of the Nigerian team a year ago, and Nigeria is yet to lose a game with the pair in defence.

Speaking to the press after their 1-0 win yesterday, Rohr admitted the performance of the duo played a big role in helping Nigeria see out the Zambians especially when they mounted pressure in search of a goal.

“When you know if you have to win to qualify and you’re playing at home it puts you under pressure than the other team who are playing away”, the coach said.

“But our players were very strong mentally and we have very physical players like Balogun and Ekong as centre backs so we have this behind , and a goalkeeper (Ezenwa) who has confidence also which is also very important”.

**Ade Emmanuel

Source:- OwngoalNigeria