- the midfielder has established himself as one of the most dependable figures in the national team setup
- The defeat brought Nigeria’s six-match unbeaten run to an end, while Portugal extended their own unbeaten streak to five matches
- Portugal started the match with greater urgency and almost found an early breakthrough
Alex Iwobi’s landmark 100th appearance for Nigeria ended on a disappointing note as the Super Eagles suffered a 2-1 defeat to Portugal in an international friendly played on Wednesday night in Leiria.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Fulham midfielder reached a significant milestone before kick-off when he was honoured by the Nigeria Football Federation with a commemorative plaque in recognition of his century of appearances for the national team.
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With the achievement, Iwobi joined an elite group of Nigerian footballers comprising Joseph Yobo, Vincent Enyeama and Ahmed Musa, becoming only the fourth player to make 100 appearances for the Super Eagles
Portugal started the match with greater urgency and almost found an early breakthrough, but Cristiano Ronaldo failed to hit the target after creating space inside the penalty area.
Nigeria responded with attacking moves of their own as Calvin Bassey, Wilfred Ndidi and Akor Adams tested the Portuguese defence in an evenly contested opening period.
The deadlock was eventually broken by the hosts midway through the first half. Diogo Dalot delivered a precise pass to Pedro Neto, who calmly finished to hand Portugal the advantage
Nigeria refused to be rattled and restored parity before the interval. A well-worked move involving Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Akor Adams ended with the latter finding the back of the net to level the score.
Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was one of Nigeria’s standout performers on the night, making several important interventions to deny the Portuguese attack and keep the contest alive.
After the restart, Portugal introduced fresh legs and regained control of the game. Their winning goal arrived through Francisco Conceição, who skipped past his marker before unleashing a powerful strike from a difficult angle into the bottom corner.
The Super Eagles continued to search for another equaliser but were unable to break down a disciplined Portuguese backline as the home side held on to secure victory.
Although Nigeria ended the evening on the losing side, the team produced an encouraging display against one of Europe’s strongest sides despite missing key attackers Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.
The defeat brought Nigeria’s six-match unbeaten run to an end, while Portugal extended their own unbeaten streak to five matches.
Despite the result, the night remained memorable for Iwobi, whose international career began in 2015. Over the years, the midfielder has established himself as one of the most dependable figures in the national team setup, contributing 10 goals and eight assists across 100 appearances for the Super Eagles.
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