Nigeria suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in an international friendly, with a late strike deciding the encounter after a balanced contest
Nigeria’s Super Eagles fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Portugal in an international friendly played on Wednesday night, as Francisco Conceição struck late to secure victory for the former European champions.
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The match saw Portugal take an early lead through Pedro Neto, who found space inside the box before calmly finishing to put his side ahead in the contest.
Nigeria responded strongly before the break, with Akor Adams producing a powerful run and composed finish to level the scoreline and bring the Super Eagles back into contention.
The game remained evenly balanced in the second half, with both sides creating chances but struggling to break the deadlock as the clock ticked down.
However, just as the match appeared set to end in a draw, Conceição produced a moment of quality, cutting inside before curling a superb effort beyond the goalkeeper to seal the win for Portugal.
The Super Eagles showed resilience throughout the encounter, building on their recent 2-2 draw against Poland, but were ultimately undone by a late moment of brilliance.
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Portugal will now turn their attention to their upcoming fixture, which is set to serve as their opening match ahead of the 2026 World Cup against DR Congo.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
