Portugal gets key players back for Nigeria match

Portugal has received good news ahead of their last World Cup warm-up against Nigeria. The Paris Saint-Germain players, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves, and Gonçalo Ramos, joined the national team on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

They are joining the squad just four days before the friendly match on Wednesday at the Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria. Super Eagles striker Terem Moffi has already said that this match will be a different challenge from the one Nigeria faced in Poland.

Mendes, Vitinha, Neves, and Ramos missed the first training sessions of this international break. They were busy celebrating PSG’s win in the Champions League final against Arsenal last Saturday.

Mendes, Vitinha, and Neves all played in the final, while Ramos came on as a substitute in the second half. Portuguese newspaper A Bola confirmed that Friday’s training was the last session without these PSG players, as all four were back with the team on Saturday.

The PSG players missed Portugal’s friendly against Chile at the Estádio Nacional do Jamor on Saturday. But they are expected to be fit for the match against Nigeria on Wednesday.

Portugal's coach Roberto Martínez should have all his players ready for this game. João Félix also took part in the first 15 minutes of Friday’s media session as he works on getting back to full fitness.

Portugal and Nigeria have only faced each other once at the senior level. That match took place in Lisbon on November 17, 2022. It was another pre-World Cup friendly that ended in a 4-0 win for Portugal. Bruno Fernandes scored two goals, Gonçalo Ramos added another, and João Mário finished the scoring. Nigeria missed a penalty kick through Emmanuel Dennis.

Now, four years later, Eric Chelle’s team is in a different place. They just won the Unity Cup in London, beating Zimbabwe and Jamaica, and then drawing 2-2 with Poland in Warsaw, where they led twice.

Portugal goalkeeper Jose Sá and Manchester City defender Ruben Dias have both stressed how serious the Portuguese are about Wednesday’s game. Sá mentioned that this match is important for the team to sharpen their tactics before the World Cup. Portugal is in a group with DR Congo, Colombia, and Uzbekistan for the World Cup.

For Nigeria, Moffi was straightforward in his comments. He said, “We had a good game against Poland, and I am happy I scored. However, I think Portugal will be a very difficult test for the Super Eagles.”

Chelle will be missing some key players for the match. Super Eagles captain Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman withdrew from the squad, saying they need to rest after a long club season. Ola Aina was also left out after he missed the end of his club season due to injury.