Posted by On Friday night, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia will meet in a friendly international match in Portugal’s Estádio Municipal de Portimo.
The international exhibition match will begin at 5pm.
Next week, Nigeria will play Mozambique in another friendly after facing Saudi Arabia this week.
In November, the Super Eagles will play Lesotho in a qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a friendly match played in 2010 in Austria, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia played to a scoreless draw.
Referee for the upcoming international friendly between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia will be Portuguese official Luis Godinho, who was selected by FIFA, the world football governing body.
Three other Brazilians, Bruno Jesus (assistant referee 1), Tiago Costa (assistant referee 2), and Miguel Noguera (fourth official), will help Godinho out on the field.
Furthermore, FIFA designated Helder Carvalho as the VAR room’s leader and Bruno Vieira as his assistant.
Team Nigeria Updates:
For the upcoming friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique, Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has already called up 25 players to camp.
Gentleman, Gift Orban has not been summoned. When Nigeria played Sao Tome and Principe, Nice’s Terem Moffi was left off the roster.
Nigeria’s two friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique will go without Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi, who is nursing an injury.
Recently, while practicing with Nottingham Forest, Awoniyi suffered a groin injury that may keep him out of action for up to a month.
Awoniyi was injured, and his manager, Steve Cooper, announced it before Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest.
In addition, Ola Aina, a defender for Nottingham Forest, is injured and will miss the two exhibition games.
For both games, Peseiro included Aina in his final roster of 25 players.
The Premier League team Nottingham Forest, however, has now confirmed that Aina is temporarily out with a muscular injury.
The future of the former Chelsea star is uncertain at this time.
Meanwhile, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru of Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor received an offer to join the team for the first time from coach Peseiro.
On Tuesday, Peseiro’s squad will report to camp in Faro, Portugal, ahead of Thursday’s exhibition match.
In their last six games, Nigeria has defeated Sao Tome, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau (over two legs), Portugal, and Costa Rica to earn three victories.
Team news from Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia had lost their last six matches before facing Nigeria.
The formerly unbeatable Asian superpower has recently been beaten by South Korea, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Poland.
The Green Falcons, who only hired Roberto Mancini as their coach in August, are looking for their first win in his tenure.
Mancini has already released his 31-man roster for the upcoming games against Nigeria and Mali.
The former manager of Manchester City called up 31 Saudi Arabia-based players, with the largest contingent coming from Al-Hilal (12).
Possible starting lineup for Nigeria:
Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Victor Boniface, and Francis Uzoho. Also, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Wilfred Ndidi, and Kenneth Omeruo.
Possible starting lineup for Saudi Arabia:
To name a few: Mohammed Al-Owais, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Saud Abulhamid, Salem Al-Dawsari, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohamed Kanno, Eid Al-Muwallad, Firas Al-Buraikan, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan.
Prediction:
Most people expect Nigeria to win against Saudi Arabia. It’s possible that Jose Peseiro’s team will win the game with a score of 2-1.
Isa Saleh Sadiq, CEO of the International Football Academy in Northern Nigeria and a football scout, recently spoke with DAILY POST about the upcoming match between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
According to Sadiq, “both teams will be tested in this international friendly.” Mancini has yet to lead the Saudis to victory. I believe the Italian’s first two games as coach were losses. So, I anticipate that he will field a strong team that can compete with the Super Eagles.
Remember, the Saudi team competed in the last World Cup, which was held in Qatar, and even upset the eventual winners, Argentina, in a group stage match. As a result, I think the game versus Nigeria will be quite close.
Sadiq was thrilled for a few of the players Peseiro had invited to the exhibition match.
He praised Peseiro for including in the squad individuals who are currently performing well for their respective clubs. I’m excited to see Terem Moffi of OGC Nice, Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru of Hatayaspor make their first national team appearances.
However, I am disappointed that only Enyimba FC goalkeeper [Olorunleke] Ojo, a local player from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), made the list.
Why Peseiro didn’t invite three to five local players to this game is beyond me. I understand his reasoning; perhaps the domestic league has only recently begun; but, I would want to see him invite local players to future matches. Players’ spirits in the NPFL should rise as a result of this.
When asked for his prediction, Sadiq pointed out that it had been over a decade since the two sides had played each other and that, during that meeting, the game ended in a scoreless tie. Both squads have recently been restocked with brand new players.
But, as I mentioned before, I don’t expect a cakewalk for either club in this matchup. This game will be challenging and the final score will be tight. Sadiq said that Nigeria had won by a score of 1-0 or 1-1.