Former Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong has backed Ghana to get a point against England from Tuesday's World Cup Group L clash in Foxborough.
Despite the Super Eagles' fierce rivalry with the Black Stars, the Al Ahli Doha centre-back -- who is working as a pundit for SuperSport at the World Cup after announcing his international retirement following Nigeria's failure to qualify -- revealed that he is rooting for Ghana against the country where he has spent much of his career.
Troost-Ekong was born in the Netherlands and developed through the academies of Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. He featured for Watford in the Premier League, but has also played in the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Türkiye, Italy, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and now Qatar.
In a media roundtable hosted by SuperSport, Troost-Ekong told ESPN: "I would love Ghana to go and do well. I think the beauty of the World Cup, and I think all the teams, even when we've been at the World Cup before - we want to see the other African teams do well, I think it's very important for the continent.
"Besides the rivalry, where we play against each other, often there's also a lot of love for each other, because we know the players well, and maybe from my perspective now, having retired from the national team, it's easier to say that.
"I was very happy with their performance against Panama [in a 1-0 win]. Leading up now for the game against England, there were a lot of positives. I thought they looked very resilient in that game. I think the introduction of the substitutions in the second half -- especially with Brandon Thomas-Asante and Abdul Fatawu, who came in -- those players made a really big difference. I think they've given [England] something to think about."
Troost-Ekong admitted that one variable he could not predict was the involvement of Thomas Partey, who missed the opener in Toronto due to being denied entry into Canada. The midfielder faces charges of rape and sexual assault in the United Kingdom, and denies wrongdoing.
However, he believes England have defensive vulnerabilities. The Three Lions beat Croatia 4-2 in their opener, with Harry Kane scoring a first-half brace.
Thomas Tuchel's side had their lead cancelled out twice before half-time, relying on second half goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford to seal the three points.
"I think picking up the three points [against Panama] will give them a chance to play confidently against England. I think against England, when I've seen them play, there's definitely opportunities to take advantage," Troost-Ekong continued.
"So if I was predicting that game, I'm probably going to say a draw because I could see both teams score."