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Portugal put up a tough fight to beat Nigeria 2-1 in their final warm-up match before the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins.
Pedro Neto, from Chelsea, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, but Nigeria responded and Akor Adams (37′) punished the home team’s carelessness in defense.
The dagger finally came in the second half after a brilliant solo effort. Francisco Conceição out-slalomed his marker before launching a ball past Maduka Okoye.
Okoye had made some brilliant saves in the game, ensuring that the Super Eagles remained in the match and the score was respectful.
However, the Super Eagles also escaped because Cristiano Ronaldo wasted several scoring opportunities.
It was a match with several talking points and Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle will be looking to make some tough decisions if he stays to build a new team – he recorded his first loss in regulation time.
Although they were missing some important players, the lackluster performance of some regulars and rookies could hardly go unnoticed.
The defeat to Portugal itself was not unimaginable, but the lack of quality in some key areas and moments of the game exposed the recurring problems that have proven costly in the past.
Hit in the stomach
Chelle or the next Super Eagles coach will need to fix the midfield which once again showed it lacked the creative personnel to control a high-pressure game or initiate and sustain attacking pressure.
Wednesday’s game in Leiria was not a good show from the team’s midfield.
Although the Portuguese Roberto Martínez assembled what can be considered the best central block in world football today, Nigeria’s response was hope.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Tochukwu Nnadi, Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi felt they were at odds only because when the pendulum swung, there was clearly no coordination.
Iwobi was once again vindicated as the only player with any level of appreciable ball handling, his complementary pieces were too middle-of-the-road.
Eagles do not have wings.
Chelle’s attempt to also exploit Portugal’s offensive attacks with counter-attacking plays on the flanks produced little result as his wingers and full-backs were unable to start.
Defensively, the Super Eagles seem to have an overload on the right and the left is practically limp.
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Despite his best efforts last night (on familiar territory), Bruno Onyemeachi’s hard work was undone by a second-half substitution that rearranged the defensive line.
In familiar territory, Zaidu Sanusi fell short and allowed himself to be hypnotized by hesitation in the 1v1 with Francisco Conceição.
The winger accepted Sanusi’s invitation, cutting inside before unleashing a left-footed shot that hid in the back of the net much to the disappointment of Okoye.
Before the match, Martínez had praised his rival and without a doubt Nigeria’s performance lived up to expectations.
“The Nigerian team is very competitive, I enjoy the game against Poland. I love the coach’s ideas; he is flexible.
“As a team, we use different systems and put different players in different positions.”
It wasn’t a disappointing show for the Super Eagles, but the team needs better reinforcements and Eric Chelle knows that for a fact.
