The weight of expectation and subsequent pressure to deliver is one that's now synonymous with international football.
Fans of all countries rest their dreams on a team of 11, a squad of 23 in total, and a manager tying it all together to achieve national pride.
When that doesn't happen, chaos ensues. Superstars who were once national heroes for their successes across the globe are quickly labelled villains and become the focal point of what can be an inescapable abuse.
Sometimes, the scriptwriters leave the fate of a nation to the finest of margins. A penalty shoot-out, a late goal, a refereeing decision. Or sometimes the issues tell a tale of wider infrastructural oversights.
For William Troost-Ekong, the now former captain of Nigeria after he decided to call time on a decade-long career as a Super Eagle, that "pressure was a privilege."
The centre-back will not be at the Africa Cup of Nations. His international retirement will come as a shock to many Nigerians.
Most, who looked forward to righting the wrongs of the 2023 final defeat against Ivory Coast and their most recent failure to reach the World Cup for the second consecutive time, have been left bewildered by the timing. However, it's a decision that Troost-Ekong has battled with for some time.
"I just felt like the right time for me," Troost-Ekong told SportNews.
"It feels like a chapter is closing. But I also feel happy, I feel proud. I've had such a great run with the Super Eagles to be part of the team for over 10 years.
"It's been such a big part of my identity, something I've been so proud of. Just to be part of the team is one of the biggest honours that I've had in my life so far.
"For me to grow into becoming a captain of the team is something that I couldn't have even imagined at the start of it.
"It's bittersweet, but it just felt like the right time for me."
Troost-Ekong retires as Nigeria's ninth-most capped player, with 83 appearances to his name.
His time with the national team was a rollercoaster. There were highs interlinked with the lows, along with doubts and disagreements. Troost-Ekong was part of a Nigeria team that earned a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics before achieving third place at the 2021 AFCON.
In 2023, he led Nigeria to the AFCON final as captain, becoming the competition's highest-scoring defender ever while also being named Player of the Tournament. A career highlight, scoring in the final to open the scoring, became a low, shipping two goals to hosts Ivory Coast, and losing as favourites for the competition.
"It feels surreal," Troost-Ekong says as he describes the feeling of dragging his nation to an AFCON final.
"I think maybe because I already had the first thoughts about stopping at that time. I was probably more emotional.
"I wasn't in the best relationship with the coach that we had at the time, even though we made up afterwards and I went to the tournament.
"So to be there, I was just trying to enjoy it as much as I could because I kind of said to myself, 'this would be my last tournament'.
"It wasn't until we finished the tournament, and I thought, wow, that was something really special to be a part of. And I think I managed to show my best version and lead the team as well as I could."
Troost-Ekong was in tears after the final whistle blew in Abidjan. But as his sorrow turned to pride, anger from fans who felt their team should have won turned to abuse, platformed by a harsh Nigerian media.
Fulham duo Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi felt the full brunt of the abuse as their Premier League status came with expectation that they failed to deliver upon.
An unforgiving media alongside a passionate fanbase is a recipe for disaster when things don't go your way.
"Was the media scrutiny too much? Maybe at times. When I got older, I kind of had to learn how to deal with that.
"And I think the best way is through experiencing it. I think you have to share that. I don't think you've got to take that upon yourself because it's not just me playing in the team.
"But as a team, my role was definitely growing in that and change because you have to try and absorb that and try to keep everyone level-headed.
"It's difficult to do because there are so many moving parts, whether it's the manager, whether it's within the federation, or of course, the fans who want the best for the team and are so passionate, which is also the beauty of Nigerian football.
"It can be a lot sometimes. So, I think you just try to create a circle around the team and you treat that as a family."
Troost-Ekong has stepped away from the "family" in a playing capacity but believes the foundations have been laid to achieve success. However, Nigeria haven't won the tournament since 2013. Every year spent without the trophy since has spelt failure for a nation consistently among the favourites and among the competition's most valuable squads.
Having said that, players such as Iwobi and Bassey have grown more mature.
Victor Osimhen's performances at the height of the European game have sustained, while the likes of Ademola Lookman and Wilfried Ndidi will hope to play a key role this AFCON.
"I feel like there's been a gradual passing of the baton from where I am as one of the leaders and captain of the team," Troost-Ekong said.
"It's time to step away and let the next generation and the boys I've been playing with for the last years give them a chance to write their own story.
"The team are very well placed to achieve something at this AFCON.
"The last AFCON taught us so much. Of course, losing that, you learn a lot. You understand how to play that occasion better when it comes.
"I think the team will be unfazed now until that moment and they'll definitely want to put those wrongs right.
"I'll be there to support them as much as I can because I think if we have a chance to win the AFCON now in Morocco, I would still feel like I've been a part of that generation, the set of players, even though I wouldn't be there at that moment.
"It would be a beautiful way to kind of crown the generation of players that we've had now and also give them the respect that they, over the years, probably deserved. But you need to earn it. There's been a golden set before 2013 that won it."
