Roberto Martinez Happy Over Portugal’s Show Against Super Eagles Of Nigeria

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has expressed satisfaction with his side’s performance after they secured a 2-1 win over the Super Eagles in an international friendly on Wednesday night.

Naija News reports that the encounter, played at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, served as Portugal’s final preparatory match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Portugal made a bright start and took the lead in the 23rd minute through Pedro Neto. The winger controlled a cut-back from Diogo Dalot before drilling a low effort into the bottom corner for his first goal in four months.

Nigeria responded well and levelled matters eight minutes before the break. Akor Adams combined neatly with Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in a quick one-two move before finishing to make it 1-1.

The match appeared to be heading towards a draw until substitute Francisco Conceição produced the decisive moment 15 minutes from time. The winger skipped past his marker, cut inside and fired a powerful shot into the bottom corner from a difficult angle to hand Portugal the win.

Reflecting on the result, Martinez praised the depth of his squad and the way his players executed their plans throughout the game.

“Very satisfied. It’s difficult to use all the players. It’s the first time we’ve been able to. We used that very well. It puts more pressure on the group,” Martinez was quoted as saying by O Jogo.

“In a club setting it’s difficult, but in a national team setting it’s fantastic to be able to improve in the second half. João Félix is in very good form, he’s had a brutal season. He’s intelligent. He was unlucky, the ball crossed the line and he deserved the goal.

“We had an individual plan for everyone. We managed to achieve that. It was the right opponent. A team very similar to Congo, with physical strength, the ability to exploit spaces. As a test it was very good, we can rotate eleven players and win the game. It shows the attitude of our group and I’m very satisfied with what we did in the two games.”