- The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face Portugal and Poland in international friendly matches in June
- Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but will play matches before the tournament begins
- Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal to the World Cup, but Robert Lewandowski’s Poland failed to qualify
The Nigeria Football Federation has announced two high-profile friendly matches for the Super Eagles during the June 2025 international break.
Nigeria, as of this moment, will not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, unless their case against DR Congo at the Court of Arbitration for Sports is successful.
Source: Twitter
DR Congo defeated Nigeria on penalties in the final of the African playoff, but the NFF submitted a petition to FIFA challenging the eligibility of some of their players.
FIFA dismissed the case but the NFF headed for the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) sitting in Lausanne, Switzerland, to have a final try.
The Leopards defeated Jamaica in the intercontinental playoffs to clinch a World Cup spot, and NFF hopes to unseat them through legal proceedings.
Nigeria played two friendlies in March, beating Iran 2-1 before playing a 2-2 draw against Jordan as part of a four-nation invitational tournament in Turkey.
Super Eagles to face Poland and Portugal
Super Eagles’ absence at the World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada will not deter them from playing matches around the tournament.
NFF announced that the Nigerian national team will face Poland on June 3 at 7:45 PM, and take on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on June 10.
According to NFF, the match against Poland will take place at PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw, where the exact venue for the Portugal clash has not been confirmed.
As noted by 11v11, the Super Eagles have only faced the White-Reds, and it came in an international friendly, which they won in March 2018.
The same applies to Portugal. There had only been one meeting against Nigeria, and it was in a friendly match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and Portugal won 4-0.
Nigerians reacted to the news after it was announced via the Super Eagles’ official X page, berating the team for failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
@ajibola_ayool wrote:
“Nobody is holding useless @thenff accountable anymore 🙂↕️🙂↕️🌞! We don move as if it is normal things 💯🤔💯🤔.”
@ioxcarr wrote:
“More friendlies like this add France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, etc., not those Middle Eastern training you call friendly matches.”
Source: Getty Images
@latestjzn wrote:
“What’s the essence of this friendly match when you couldn’t secure World Cup qualification? Is it not just to take pictures with Ronaldo?”
@bigsamu7 wrote:
“Other countries are preparing for the World Cup. Nigeria is just playing around😁”
Iran coach sends message to Nigeria
Legit.ng reported that Iran coach Amir Ghaleonei sent a message to Nigeria after his Iranian national team lost to the Super Eagles in a friendly match.
Ghaleonei admitted that his team faced a strong team in the Super Eagles, and it will serve as good preparation for them ahead of the World Cup.
Source: Legit.ng
