Nigeria plays Portugal in international World Cup friendly: All to know

Published 9 June 2026 · sports

All the news on the teams, lineups and start time as Portugal complete their World Cup preparations against Nigeria. Who: Portugal vs Nigeria What: World

All the news on the teams, lineups and start time as Portugal complete their World Cup preparations against Nigeria. Who: Portugal vs Nigeria What: World Cup 2026 warm-up Where: Estadio Dr Magalhaes Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal When: Wednesday, June 9 at 8:45pm (21:45 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 18:45 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream. Portugal will wrap up their World Cup 2026 preparations with a friendly against Nigeria on Wednesday evening, before flying out to North America and settling into their base camp in Florida in the United States. Roberto Martinez’s side are one of the favourites to win the World Cup and have a football squad packed full of talent, including star names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva. They’ll be desperate for a winning send-off in this final World Cup warm-up match after securing victory against Chile in another friendly in Oeiras on Saturday. Portugal won that encounter 2-1 with Goncalo Guedes and Bruno Fernandes scoring for the hosts. But it was a feisty encounter, and both sides were reduced to 10 men, with Portugal’s Rafael Leao sent off for punching a Chile player. Nigeria won’t be heading to the World Cup this summer, but the Super Eagles are unbeaten in their last six matches and will provide a stern test for their opponents. Will Ronaldo play against Nigeria? The 41-year-old played the first half against Chile on Saturday before being substituted at half-time.

The veteran forward is included in the squad to face Nigeria and could well get some more minutes as he continues preparations for what will surely be his final World Cup. Ronaldo has enjoyed an incredible international career with Portugal, scoring 143 goals in 227 appearances and winning the European Championships in 2016. Will Osimhen and Lookman play for Nigeria? Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman are both absent from the Nigeria squad. Both were expected to play in these end-of-season friendlies against Poland and Portugal, but have been rested. Atletico Madrid are requesting this for Lookman following a busy season. It was also deemed that Osimhen’s workload should be protected. When do Portugal kick off their World Cup? Portugal start their campaign next Wednesday, facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Houston, Texas in the US. That match kicks off at midday local time (17:00 GMT). They’ll return to the same venue six days later to face Uzbekistan on June 23, before rounding out Group K with a highly anticipated game against Colombia in Miami on June 27. Roberto Martinez has chosen Florida for Portugal’s camp, with the squad based in Palm Beach Gardens. Why aren’t Nigeria at the World Cup? The Super Eagles are missing their second consecutive World Cup following a turbulent qualifying campaign that saw two changes of managers. Despite a squad containing the likes of Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria lost the African playoff final on penalties after a 1-1 draw with DRC.