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The focus will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal take on Nigeria in an international friendly ahead of the 202 FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo's undying thirst for the limelight has earned him the world's attention ahead of what is expected to be his final World Cup. An explosive interview where he aired his frustrations at Manchester United is being widely viewed as unsavory and untimely.
But this is not the time to get distracted and the Portugal national team captain knows that more than anyone as he leads his troops into battle against Nigeria on Thursday night.
It will be the one and only preparation match that Portugal will get ahead of their first group stage fixture against Ghana on 24 November .
Portugal have a star-studded squad and Fernando Santos has a selection headache to address, especially in midfield. He is likely to test out different combinations on Thursday against Nigeria, who have failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Incidentally, Nigeria's World Cup qualifying campaign ended at the hands of Ghana, Portugal's first opponents in the group stage. They lost on away goals after drawing the second leg of their final qualifying game.
They fell to a 2-0 loss to Costa Rica on 10 November and will be used as a preparation side once again as they travel to take on Portugal on Thursday.
Nigeria have some quality players in their ranks and could cause some problems for Portugal.
Portugal vs Nigeria Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Portugal have lost two of their last three matches in all competitions.
- Nigeria have lost four of their last six games in all competitions.
- Portugal have kept three clean sheets in their last five matches in all competitions.
- Nigeria have conceded at least one goal in six of their last seven matches.
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Portugal vs Nigeria Prediction
Ronaldo will be motivated to silence his doubters and prove his critics wrong. He's stacked the odds against him once again but it remains to be seen whether he still has what it takes to come up clutch again.
As for Portugal, it will be good to have some wind in their sails heading into the World Cup and as such, they will be looking for a win. Nigeria are unlikely to pose many problems for Santos' star-studded unit.
Prediction: Portugal 2-0 Nigeria
Portugal vs Nigeria Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Portugal
Tip 2: Game to have under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Portugal to keep a clean sheet - Yes
