Portugal vs Nigeria Football Match 17 Now 2022
About the match
Portugal is going head to head with Nigeria starting on 17 Nov 2022 at 18:45 UTC . The match is a part of the International Matches.
Portugal wrap up their preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup with a friendly matchup against African heavyweight Nigeria at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Thursday.
The three-time African champions, who will not be participating in Qatar following their qualifying heartbreak, will be looking to return to winning ways and close out the year on a high as they prepare for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures.
Off the back of a somewhat disappointing UEFA Nations League campaign, where they finished one point behind group winners Spain, Portugal will be looking to make their mark in Qatar.
Having picked up three wins and one draw from their first five matches, a 1-0 home loss against Luis Enrique’s men on September 27 saw A Selecao lose top spot in Group A2 in their final group outing.
Drawn in Group H of the World Cup alongside Ghana, South Korea and South American powerhouse Uruguay, Portugal are slight favourites to finish as group winners and progress to the knockout stages.
This alone will not be enough for Fernando Santos’s men, who have failed to progress past the round of 16 since 2006, where they reached the semi-finals before suffering a 1-0 loss against France.
Despite a shaky qualifying run — where they finished behind first-placed Serbia before securing playoff wins over Turkey and North Macedonia — Santos has shown he has what it takes to get the job done against some of the world’s biggest footballing nations.
The 68-year-old was at the helm of affairs when Portugal clinched the European Championship title back in 2016, three years before guiding the nation to their first UEFA Nations League crown.
Portugal, who are making a sixth consecutive World Cup appearance, will be looking to reach their first-ever final and have called-up a star-studded squad for the task at hand, with skipper Cristiano Ronaldo headlining the squad once again.
Nigeria, on the other hand, will head into Thursday looking to finally give their fans something to cheer for following what has been an underwhelming year.
The three-time African champions kicked off the year with a round-of-16 exit from the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations as they fell to a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tunisia on January 23.
Shortly afterwards, the Super Eagles fell short in their bid for a place in Qatar as they were beaten by West African rivals Ghana on the away goal rule following a 1-1 aggregate draw in the qualifying playoffs in March.
