00:00Portugal vs Nigeria. International friendly, preview, predictions and lineups.
00:06Portugal takes on Nigeria in Lyria on Wednesday, less than a week out from its first World Cup
00:12group game against the DR Congo. It was the DR Congo that prevented Nigeria from qualifying for
00:17this summer's tournament before subsequently progressing via the Interconfederation playoffs
00:22in March. The Super Eagles had featured at six of the previous eight tournaments,
00:26reaching the knockout stages on a couple of occasions. Its upcoming opponents, Portugal,
00:32are targeting a deep run in North America this summer, perhaps looking to better its best ever
00:37finish of third, achieved in 1966 when Eusebio was scoring goals for fun. The Euro 2016 and two-time
00:45UEFA Nations league winners boast a roster capable of thrusting the Iberians to glory in what will
00:51surely be Cristiano Ronaldo's last major tournament with the national team. World Cup success has
00:57eluded him since making his debut in 2006 with Portugal beaten quarter-finalists on multiple
01:03occasions, including last time out in Qatar. The preparation started with a 2-1 win over Chile
01:09on Saturday. Goncalo Gaijez and Bruno Fernandes found the back of the net in the second half before
01:15the South Americans scored a late consolation. Portugal vs Nigeria score prediction. Portugal
01:21faces off against Nigeria for just the second time, having thumped the Super Eagles 4-0 when
01:27they first met in 2022. Martinez's side weren't exactly at their fluent best against Chile,
01:33but the match was disrupted by both teams being reduced to 10 men on the stroke of halftime.
01:38The Portugal manager will know that his team doesn't need to be purring at the start of the summer's
01:43tournament, given its expansion. A groove can be discovered midway through the campaign,
01:48with Portugal only likely to be seriously tested by Colombia in the group stage.
01:53Portugal's form, Nigeria has won 9 of its previous 12 games and earned a respectable 2-2 draw against
02:00Poland last time out. Still, Portugal represents a major step up from the likes of Jamaica and
02:07Zimbabwe, two of its recent victims. FIFA's fifth-ranked nation has lost just one of its last 12 outings and
02:14has been beaten on Portuguese soil only four times this decade. Nigeria's absences. This would be a
02:21difficult enough challenge for the visitors if they were at full strength. Without Ademila Lukman and
02:26Victor Osman, Nigeria lacks the firepower to trouble the hosts. PSG contingent. While Nigeria is missing
02:34couple of big names, Portugal has an impressive core to welcome back into the fold. The PSG boys are
02:41back. Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos all have big roles to play this summer and
02:48they'll earn their first runouts on Wednesday. Score prediction. Portugal 3-1 Nigeria. Rafael Leal is suspended
02:56for Wednesday's game after slapping Chile's Ivan Roman last time out, but the winger will be
03:01available for Portugal's World Cup opener against the DR Congo next week. Roberto Martinez does at
03:06least have his PSG contingent to call upon. Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos were all
03:14absent for the 2-1 win over Chile, but will be available against the Super Eagles. There are no
03:20injuries to report, with plenty of Martinez's roster getting a runout in Lisbon. He'll shuffle his deck
03:25again on Wednesday, which means we should see the likes of Diogo Dalet, Goncalo Inasio,
03:31Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto in the starting lineup.
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