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Onyemaechi Bruno, Ogbu Igoh and Moses for Nigeria. Copyright: ImagoxVincentxKAMTOx<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Super Eagles defender Bruno Onyemaechi has shared his thoughts on Nigeria\u2019s performance in their friendly\u00a0match\u00a0against Portugal on Wednesday night,\u00a0Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n The three-time African champions faced the 2016 European champions in what was Portugal\u2019s final preparation match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup\u00a0at the Est\u00e1dio Dr. magalh\u00e3es Pessoa, but\u00a0suffered a narrow\u00a0<\/u>2-1 defeat in the encounter<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Pedro Neto opened the scoring for the hosts, but Akor Adams\u2019\u00a0sixth international goal restored parity before half-time. However, Juventus forward Francisco Concei\u00e7\u00e3o produced a stunning strike\u00a0in the second half\u00a0to seal victory for Portugal.<\/p>\n The result was Nigeria\u2019s first defeat in normal time since their 2-1 loss to Egypt in a warm-up game ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, bringing an end to a strong run of form that\u00a0also\u00a0included comfortable wins over Zimbabwe and\u00a0Jamaica<\/u><\/a>\u00a0to clinch the 2026 Unity Cup.<\/p>\n The Super Eagles had come under criticism\u00a0during the March international window\u00a0for\u00a0the quality of opponents they faced,\u00a0but\u00a0both games this month has\u00a0provided a much tougher challenge\u00a0and shown\u00a0where the team stands against elite opponents.<\/p>\n Nigeria\u00a0suffered a\u00a04-0 defeat to Portugal in their last meeting in 2022, showing the gulf in qualify at the time,\u00a0but Wednesday\u2019s performance showed clear improvement, with just a single goal separating both sides.<\/p>\n Despite\u00a0the presence of the likes of\u00a0Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Jo\u00e3o Neves for Portugal,\u00a0the Super Eagles were far more competitive this time around, even though they missed the presence of\u00a0Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Although the Super Eagles suffered defeat and saw their unbeaten run end,\u00a0Olympiacos left-back Onyemaechi\u00a0believes there were plenty of positives to take from the performance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a very good game. It was a very competitive game for us to test our ability\u201d,\u00a0O<\/u>nyemaechi said\u00a0<\/u>post-match.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n The former Feirense defender enjoyed a memorable moment after the final whistle, exchanging shirts with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo\u00a0and stressed the importance of consistently facing elite oppositions.<\/p>\n Cristiano Ronaldo didn\u2019t just give Bruno Onyemaechi his shirt after the Portugal vs Nigeria friendly\u2026 he made their photo the FIRST slide on his Instagram post.<\/p>\n GOAT behaviour \ud83d\udc10\ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/MXD2ZtFX1R<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/X0Dbne_iB6h-wPoVUY0Bd_SdIxo=\/4525x3017\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F06%2Fimago1078173916.jpg\")
Soccer Bruno\u00a0Onyemaechi backs Nigeria for more high-profile friendlies<\/h2>\n
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