The Super Eagles of Nigeria will play against Portugal at the Dr Magalhães Pessoa Stadium on Wednesday in their final preparatory friendly ahead of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers, Soccernet.ng reports.
Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez’s side are gaining momentum ahead of the 2026 World Cup Group Stage fixtures. Portugal defeated Chile at the Estadio Nacional last Saturday and will be looking to test the strength of their team against Nigeria on Wednesday.
The Reds have been drawn into the World Cup Group K, alongside DR Congo, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.
Ahead of the fixture against Nigeria, Soccernet.ng highlights five Portugal players who can hurt Eric Chelle’s side.
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Five Portugal players who can hurt the Super Eagles
1. Joao Cancelo
Currently on loan at Barcelona, the Al-Hilal full-back has won league titles in France, England, Germany, and, most recently, in Spain with the Catalan giants.
Whether at right-back or left-back, Cancelo possesses the ability to unlock any defence with his technical ability, close control, and overlapping runs.
2. Bernardo Silva
Portugal’s little magician. Bernardo Silva can play across any position in Portugal’s midfield, making him valuable in possession.
The former Manchester City man is also very technically gifted, and hard to take off the ball without drawing a foul, a trait Nigeria have to watch out for, considering the midfield trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Tochukwu Nnadi and Frank Onyeka like to exert their strength.
3. Bruno Fernandes
The Manchester United captain is in the form of his life. He recently broke the Premier League assist record for a season jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.
Having entered into the top echelon of English top-flight football, Bruno carried the same form into the Portuguese National team, scoring a goal to win the game against Chile last Saturday.
The attacking midfielder is a set-piece specialist, and can score from anywhere around the penalty box. Nigeria have to be particularly careful of leaving Fernandes unmarked, considering he can pick out a pass very few players in the football world can spot today.
4. Vitinha
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder is coming off the back of multiple UEFA Champions League victories heading into the World Cup in USA.
While he didn’t feature against Chile last Saturday, coach Roberto Martinez revealed the decision was made to make sure they have enough energy to help the team when needed, considering he, alongside Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos have played over 60 games for Paris Saint-Germain in the just-concluded club season.
Vitinha plays from deep, and can spot half-spaces to help his team transition from defence to attack in an instance. Should Vitinha be fit enough to play against Nigeria, the Super Eagles would have to be at the top of their game to reduce his impact.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
While he’s not as quick as he used to be, Cristiano Ronaldo is still the player with the most goals in football history, and the 41-year-old is just 27 short of hitting the 1,000 mark.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has remodelled himself into a full-time centre-forward, and is a fox in the box.
Nigeria have to be very careful, particularly from set-pieces, because he still possesses a leap not many footballers can match, and can time his runs to avoid being offside as he showed in last year’s UEFA Nations League final against Spain.
