Portugal vs Norway

Estádio José Alvalade forms the backdrop for Portugal’s final warm-up fixture ahead of the World Cup as out-of-sorts Nigeria arrive in Lisbon.

Portugal had to take a long route to get to Qatar, but two-goal margin wins over Turkey and North Macedonia in the playoffs will hand Cristiano Ronaldo one last shot at World Cup glory. But the ‘Selecao’ have flopped in the meanwhile, finishing second to neighbours Spain in an exciting Nations League Group A/2, courtesy of a last-gasp 1-0 home defeat to the Spaniards on the final matchday. Since drawing 1-1 in Spain last June, none of Portugal’s five subsequent internationals have ended level (W3, L2), with each game (won/lost) in that timeframe seeing the winner register a shutout. But after failing to score in two of their last three matches, Fernando Santos’ side will want to work on their attacking set-up.

After three consecutive appearances at the World Cup finals, Nigeria will miss out on the Qatar showpiece after losing to Ghana on away goals in the playoffs. Consistency has since become a problem for the ‘Super Eagles’ as they’ve claimed three wins in their subsequent eight matches while losing the other five. Coming into this encounter, Jose Peseiro’s men have lost back-to-back friendlies to Algeria and Costa Rica, ominously conceding on either side of halftime on each occasion. Worryingly for Peseiro, his lads have lost all four international friendlies in 2022 by an aggregate score of 7-2. Except for a 10-0 demolition of minnows Sao Tome and Principe in June, the Nigerians have lost five of their last six away games.