Nigeria suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Portugal in an international friendly match in Lisbon on Thursday night.
Jose Peseiro’s men struggled to match their hosts’ dominance, conceding two goals in each half and they also missed a penalty to reduce the deficit.
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes scored twice in the first half and debutant Goncalo Ramos and Joao Mario added late goals as the Selecao thrashed Nigeria 4-0.
Without captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Santos’ side started strongly and as early as the ninth minute Joao Felix found Diogo Dalot and he teed up Fernandes to tap into an empty net.
Portugal doubled their lead through Fernandes from the penalty spot in the 35th minute after a Bernardo Silver’s cross struck the hand of Nigeria’s defender Bright Osayi-Samuel.
Second-half substitute, Samuel Chukwueze had the Super Eagles’ best chance in the 71st minute after latching on to a pass from Alex Iwobi, beating his marker neatly but his goal-bound shot was stopped by the out-stretched leg of goalkeeper Patricio for a corner.
The Super Eagles had the opportunity to reduce the scoreline in the 81st minute but Emmanuel Dennis’ penalty was saved.
After the miss, Portugal got their third and fourth goal in quick succession. Ramos took a short pass from Raphael Guerreiro in his stride and unleashed a powerful shot low into the middle of the goal to make it 3-0 before Joao Mario closed out the victory with a strike into the bottom corner to the delight of around 45,000 fans in the stadium.
It’s a cheering result for Fernando Santos’ men who had lost two of their three previous games,while for Nigeria, it’s now three straight losses in all competitions and six friendly defeats in a row.
