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SCORENigeria analyzes the highlights of the Super Eagles’ 2-1 loss to Portugal in a friendly in Leira on Wednesday night.
10. Maduka Okoye is now the Super Eagles’ number one goalkeeper, as evidenced by his performances against Poland and Portugal. He made several important saves to make the defeat respectable. Stanley Nwabali would have to fight to regain the number one spot. His sofa score with 7.5 points, the highest for a Nigerian player.
🚨 GOAL IN PORTUGAL 🇵🇹
Poor craftsmanship by Zaidu.
Maduka Okoye wins again and Portugal 🇵🇹 leads Nigeria 🇳🇬 2-1.pic.twitter.com/PyxrtHkMNl
— MR OLAWALE QUADRI 🇳🇬 (@QualityQuadry) June 10, 2026
9. It is understandable that the Super Eagles did not create as many chances against the fifth best team in the world, who dominated and should have won by a greater margin, but wastefulness from Cristiano Ronaldo and some saves from Okoye. The gulf in class between the two teams was obvious.
8. The Eagles were not much of a threat going forward and would certainly have benefited from the presence of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. At that level of the game, your best players would be very useful.
7. The time has come for Nigeria to move on from wingers Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon. Femi Azeez, for example, showed it in the recent Unity Cup, while Zadok Yohanna also has the potential to make his way into this team.
6. Genk youngster Christian Akpan was pushed to the back of the field on his debut. He wasn’t out of place, but he wasn’t as convincing as the other young right-back, Abdullahi Bewene, who caught the eye again in his second game for the national team.
5. High-pressure, high-intensity game coach Eric Chelle wants his team to get ahead, but it was also concerning that the team suffered high turnovers, especially around their goal area.
4. Captain Wilfred Ndidi still has his legs and, injuries permitting, will be there to lead this new and exciting team to success after success after recent disasters. He achieved 90% passing accuracy, made four recoveries, won one interception and eight duels.
3.Calvin Bassey continues to be the pillar of the back four. He was undeterred by the quality of the opposition he faced and produced another solid performance for the country.
2. There is new momentum for the Super Eagles after the disaster of missing out on two consecutive World Cups.
- Hopefully, the Super Eagles have overcome the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and the aim is now to win a fourth AFCON in East Africa next year.
