{"id":910796,"date":"2026-06-06T13:13:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/nigeria-vs-portugal-why-manchester-city-star-may-miss-super-eagles-friendly\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T13:13:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T18:13:34","slug":"nigeria-vs-portugal-why-manchester-city-star-may-miss-super-eagles-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/nigeria-vs-portugal-why-manchester-city-star-may-miss-super-eagles-friendly\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria vs Portugal: Why Manchester City star may miss Super Eagles friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Onyemaechi Bruno, Ogbu Igoh and Moses for Nigeria. Copyright: ImagoxVincentxKAMTOx<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on Portugal next Wednesday at the Dr Magalh\u00e3es Pessoa Stadium, but Roberto Martinez’s side are likely to be without one of their key players, Soccernet.ng<\/a> reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eric Chelle’s men are in good spirits following the Unity Cup victory and a 2-2 draw against Poland last Wednesday, but will test the true strength of their side against the 2016 EURO winners.<\/p>\n

The Green and Whites are also boosted by the arrivals of Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze ahead of the Portugal clash.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Super Eagles of Nigeria and Tunisia. Copyright: ImagoxSegun Ogunfeyitimi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer Nigeria vs Portugal: Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes doubtful for friendly clash<\/h2>\n

Speaking ahead of their clash against the Super Eagles, Portugal head coach, Roberto Martinez, reported on the fitness situation of his players, citing why Matheus Nunes and Joao Felix are doubts to face Chelle’s men.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn football there is nothing predictable, so we always work prepared to expect the unexpected,\u201d the former Everton head coach said in quotes revealed by A Bola<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Coach Roberto Martinez in his press conference ahead of the Nigeria vs Portugal friendly clash. Copyright: ImagoxHMBxMedia\/FernandoxSoares<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cUnfortunately, Matheus Nunes is still not in a position to train, so he stays off the list for tomorrow. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the time to take any funny risks. We hope Matheus will be well for the second game, against Nigeria. <\/p>\n

\u201cJo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix will train and we will make a decision after training, but I think it is a different situation. I feel like he’s positive and he’s going to be fit to play tomorrow,\u201d Martinez continued.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Matheus Nunes of Manchester City is warming up. Copyright: ImagoxGrahamxHuntx<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How Nunes’ potential absence affects Portugal<\/h3>\n

Primarily a midfielder before his move to Manchester City in 2023, the 27-year-old was converted to a full-time right-back by Pep Guardiola, and has made that role his own since Kyle Walker’s exit.<\/p>\n

Should he miss the game against Nigeria, Sele\u00e7\u00e3o das Quinas still have a team that’s more than able to compete in any tournament in the World.<\/p>\n

At right-back, they have Diogo Dalot, while Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, and Bernardo Silva are world-class midfield options. Even if he were fit, Nunes will most likely be a substitute on the bench, considering the quality Portugal possesses.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Achraf Hakimi celebrates with Joao Pedro Goncalves Neves during a UEFA Champions League match. Photo by Federico Pestellini\/IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martinez is also very proud of the quartet in his squad who recently celebrated winning back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey were once champions of Europe, arrived and helped a lot with their confidence. When you win the Champions League, you believe anything is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cNuno Mendes was the man of the game in the final [UEFA Nations League] against Spain; Vitinha played a very good final.<\/p>\n

\u201cGon\u00e7alo Ramos is, for me, an example with his attitude of always being prepared for everything that is to help the team; and Jo\u00e3o Neves is a player who is, at this moment, at the best level of the midfielders in European football. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, they need to rest a little. I hope their season closed well, with a good celebration. They’ve had time with the families and now their energy is going to be very important to us starting tomorrow,\u201d the 52-year-old concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Coach Roberto Martinez in his press conference ahead of the Nigeria vs Portugal friendly clash. Copyright: ImagoxHMBxMedia\/FernandoxSoares<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kick-off for the clash between Nigeria and Portugal is scheduled for 8:45 PM WAT, but before then, they have a friendly game against Chile this evening at Estadio Nacional.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Adefolahan Guerreiro” src=”https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f64d35abfd960f4a5a400c4bb517f7f0be6c48b655560fbdd37e59d9fc9ca58?s=80&d=mm&r=g” height=”80″ width=”80″ loading=”lazy” decoding=”async”>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAdefolahan Guerreiro\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAdefolahan is a multilingual CAF-Accredited sports journalist and football writer whose work spans outlets like Soccernet Nigeria, Pure Football UK, and Royalsportz. <\/p>\n

With a sharp eye for detail and a background in college sports, he tells the African football story with depth, flair, and global perspective.<\/p>\n

Fluent in English, Spanish, and German, he brings a cross-cultural voice to his coverage, blending insight with accessibility for readers around the world.
\nHis portfolio includes interviews with top Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, Sikiru Alimi, Sodiq Ismaila, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.<\/p>\n

A devoted Borussia Dortmund fan, Adefolahan thrives on the emotion and rhythm of the beautiful game. Away from work, he\u2019s a sci-fi enthusiast and series lover who enjoys exploring how sport, storytelling, and culture collide.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Adefolahan Guerreiro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Onyemaechi Bruno, Ogbu Igoh and Moses for Nigeria. Copyright: ImagoxVincentxKAMTOx The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on Portugal next Wednesday at the Dr Magalh\u00e3es Pessoa Stadium, but Roberto Martinez’s side are likely to be without one of their key players, Soccernet.ng reports. Eric Chelle’s men are in good spirits following the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":910797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27096,26719,2005],"tags":[15956,17818],"class_list":["post-910796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nigeria","category-portugal","category-soccer","tag-nigeria","tag-portugal"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}