Friendly match: Nigeria fall 1-2 to Portugal

The Super Eagles now turn their focus to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Africa Today at 19:04

Nafongo TRAORE

News Editor

Friendly match: Nigeria fall 1-2 to Portugal

10.06.26 FT Friendly International

Portugal

Nigeria

Nigeria suffered a defeat to Portugal in an international friendly. Despite a determined performance, the Super Eagles lost 1-2 to a Portugal side led by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Pedro Neto opened the scoring for Portugal in the 23rd minute, but Akor Adams leveled for Nigeria in the 37th. However, Francisco Conceição secured the win for Portugal in the 74th minute. Portugal made the difference in the final quarter-hour, wrapping up their World Cup preparations in style.

🚨🇵🇹 Portugal defeated Nigeria 2-1 and completed their preparations for the 2026 World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s team (he started and played 65 minutes) won thanks to goals from Pedro Neto (23') and Francisco Conceição (75').

🔜 They will head to the United States to kick off their campaign on 17/6 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston. pic.twitter.com/65goMRgsux
— Samuel Vargas (@SVargasOK) June 10, 2026

After winning the Unity Cup with back-to-back victories—2-0 over Zimbabwe and 3-0 against Jamaica in the final—followed by a thrilling 2-2 draw with Poland, Erik Chiel’s men wrapped up their European tour with a defeat. It’s been an intense two weeks for a team looking to rebuild after missing out on the World Cup.

Teammates Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman now shift their sights to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.