Preview: Portugal vs Nigeria - prediction, team news, lineups

Portugal will round off their preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly against Nigeria on Wednesday night.

Roberto Martinez's side are building towards their tournament opener against the DR Congo on June 17, but Nigeria failed to secure a position in the finals of the summer competition, having lost to the DR Congo in the CAF playoff final on penalties.

Match preview

It would be fair to place Portugal among the favourites to triumph at the 2026 World Cup considering the talent at Martinez's disposal, and it would be some story if Cristiano Ronaldo could win the World Cup in what will be his final showing in the prestigious competition.

Portugal will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 win over Chile on Saturday, with Goncalo Guedes and Bruno Fernandes on the scoresheet in the friendly, and the national side now have one more match before beginning their 2026 World Cup.

Martinez's team will open their World Cup against the DR Congo on June 17, before also facing Uzbekistan and Colombia in Group K, and it would be one of the biggest shocks of all time if they failed to make it out of that particular section.

Portugal have never won the World Cup, with their best-ever showing in the tournament coming in 1966, when they finished third. Last time out, the national side reached the quarter-finals, but they were actually knocked out in the group stage back in 2014.

Selecao das Quinas have only actually faced Nigeria on one previous occasion, with that meeting, which was a friendly, coming in November 2022, and it ended in a 4-0 win for Portugal.

Nigeria, as mentioned, are one of the biggest nations not to have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, so there will be no Victor Osimhen at the competition.

The Super Eagles have been regulars in the World Cup since 1994, featuring in six of the last eight tournaments, making the round of 16 twice during that period, but they lost to the DR Congo in the CAF playoff final on penalties, leaving them without a seat at the final table.

Eric Chelle's team will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Poland, and the national side are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions.

Nigeria have actually won nine of their last 12 matches, including two games against Zimbabwe and Jamaica at the end of May to retain the Unity Cup in London, so they will provide strong competition for Portugal ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

As well as Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze will be among the notable Nigerian players to be absent from this summer's tournament.

Portugal friendlies form:

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Portugal form (all competitions):

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Nigeria friendlies form:

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Nigeria form (all competitions):

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Team News

Paris Saint-Germain quartet Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos have now linked up with the Portugal squad following their involvement in the Champions League final, and the expectation is that all four will be involved against Nigeria.

Head coach Martinez will make changes from the side that took to the field for the clash against Chile, with Diogo Dalot, Goncalo Inacio, Pedro Neto and Goncalo Guedes potentially being involved from the first whistle.

Diogo Costa should also be back between the sticks, while Mendes, Vitinha and Neves could all start after helping PSG to make it successive Champions League crowns.

Rafael Leao was sent off against Chile but will be available to take to the field in this game; Cristiano Ronaldo could be rested from the first whistle after playing the first half last time out.

As for Nigeria, Osimhen and Lookman are not with the squad, so the duo will be notable absentees when the Super Eagles take to the field against Portugal.

Terem Moffi of Porto and Akor Adams of Sevilla started as the front two against Poland last time out, and that is again expected to be the case in this friendly.

There should be another start in the middle of the midfield for Ndidi, while Coventry City's Frank Onyeka is also expected to be in the starting side for Nigeria.

Portugal possible starting lineup:

D Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Vitinha, Fernandes, J Neves; Bernardo, Guedes, Neto

Nigeria possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Bewene, Ogbu, Fernandez, Onyemaechi; Simon, Onyeka, Ndidi, Nnadi; Adams, Moffi

We say: Portugal 2-1 Nigeria

Portugal will want a tough test on Wednesday, and Nigeria are a strong team, so we are expecting a close match here. Martinez will again make wholesale changes during the match to keep the players fresh for the World Cup, but we are backing Portugal to secure the win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.