Portugal warmup for 2026 World Cup with narrow win over Nigeria

Portugal secured a 2-1 win over Nigeria on Wednesday in their final warmup game ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.

The 2016 European champions are heading into the tournament hoping to win the mundial for the first time and recorded a narrow win over the African giants in their final game before the World Cup starts.

Veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo started upfront as well as the likes of Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Dias.

Nigeria, meanwhile, were without two of their superstars in Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen for the clash.

Both teams had early chances to open the scoring but Ronaldo and Akor Adams fluffed their chances as the game remained goalless.

Portugal broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute through Pedro Neto. The Chelsea forward was found by Diogo Dalot and he took a touch in the box before shooting a low effort past Maduka Okoye in the Nigerian goal.

Fernandes was then denied before Nigeria equalized moments later after a fast break, with Adams scoring the equalizer with a good finish, as the first half finished in a 1-1 draw.

Ronaldo missed another good chance in the second half as Portugal continued to pile the pressure and substitute Joao Felix troubled Okoye on several occasions.

It was another substitute who snatched the winner when Francisco Conceicao took advantage of poor marking to fire in a stunning curler into the corner to put them ahead.

That goal effectively sealed the win as Portugal head into the tournament in high hopes after also defeating Chile by the dame scoreline a few days earlier.

The Selecao will begin their campaign against DR Congo on June 17, before also facing Uzbekistan and Colombia as they hope to seal progress to the next round of the competition.

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