Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal edged Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2-1 in an entertaining international friendly in Leiria on Wednesday night, in what was the European side’s final warm-up match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Portugal took the lead in the 23rd minute when Pedro Neto latched onto a well-weighted pass from Diogo Dalot before slotting calmly past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.

The hosts continued to dominate possession and create chances, with Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes both going close, but Nigeria grew steadily into the contest and found an equaliser eight minutes before the break. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru split the Portuguese defence with a precise pass, allowing Akor Adams to race through and fire low past Diogo Costa to make it 1-1 at halftime.

Portugal made wholesale changes after the restart, introducing the likes of Bernardo Silva, João Cancelo, João Félix and Francisco Conceição as manager Roberto Martínez looked to find fresh impetus. The substitutions paid off with 15 minutes remaining when Conceição cut in from the right and curled a superb finish beyond Okoye to restore Portugal’s lead. Eric Chelle responded by bringing on Frank Onyeka, Terem Moffi, Raphael Onyedika, Zaidu Sanusi and Abdullahi Bewene in search of a second equaliser, and the Super Eagles continued to threaten on the counter, but Portugal held firm to see out the win.

The defeat ended Nigeria’s 12-game unbeaten run and followed a 2-2 draw with Poland a week earlier, marking back-to-back results against European opposition before the Super Eagles return to continued preparations away from the World Cup, for which they did not qualify. The match also doubled as a special occasion for Alex Iwobi, who was honoured before kick-off with a commemorative framed jersey to mark his 100th appearance for the national team. Portugal, who will open their World Cup campaign against DR Congo in a group also containing Uzbekistan and Colombia, will now turn their full attention to the tournament.