Portugal vs Nigeria: International friendly ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – June 10, 2026
On Wednesday, June 10, Portugal and Nigeria will meet in an international friendly, with kick-off scheduled for 21:45 CET, and I have a betting tip for this encounter.
Portugal vs Nigeria: Match preview
Portugal have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and are now focused on preparing for the tournament. Their qualifying campaign went quite smoothly overall. They collected 13 points from six matches and booked their place at the World Cup as group winners. The team suffered only one defeat, against Ireland, and also played out a 2-2 draw with Hungary.
Since then, Portugal have played three friendlies, drawing one and winning the other two. They now face Nigeria before opening their World Cup campaign. In the group stage, Portugal will take on DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia. The Seleção should have enough quality to reach the knockout rounds and then challenge for the title.
Nigeria, meanwhile, suffered the shock of failing to qualify for the World Cup, which gets underway in just a few days. The Super Eagles collected 18 points from 10 matches and finished second in their group. In the ranking of runners-up, they placed fourth and advanced to the playoffs. Nigeria first thrashed Gabon 4-1, but then suffered a stunning penalty-shootout defeat to DR Congo.
As a result, they failed to even reach the intercontinental playoffs. That disappointment came despite the team securing bronze medals at the Africa Cup of Nations. Since then, however, Nigeria have remained unbeaten in their friendly matches.
Match facts and head-to-head
- Nigeria are unbeaten in their last six matches, recording four wins and two draws.
- Portugal are unbeaten in their last four matches, with three victories and one draw.
- Nigeria have scored at least one goal in each of their last five matches.
- The sides last met in 2022, when Portugal claimed a commanding 4-0 victory.
Probable line-ups
- Portugal: Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Vitinha, Fernandes, J. Neves; Bernardo, Guedes, Neto
- Nigeria: Okoye; Bewene, Ogbu, Fernandez, Onyemaechi; Simon, Onyeka, Ndidi, Nnadi; Adams, Moffi
Prediction
I expect an entertaining contest with several goals on offer. My recommended bet is for both teams to score.
