Nigeria fans hail Super Eagles despite Portugal friendly defeat
Nigerians have taken to social media to shower praises on the Super Eagles despite their 2-1 friendly defeat to Portugal on Wednesday.
Eric Chelle’s side impressed even though they missed the presence of forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.
The Malian coach started Maduka Okoye in goal, and Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi, and Christian Akpan in front of him.
In the midfield, Captain Wilfred Ndidi, Tochukwu Nnadi, and Dele-Bashiru were tasked with providing services for the attackers.
Akor Adams led the line and he was flanked by the duo of Alex Iwobi and Moses Simon.
Before the start of the match, Iwobi was presented with a commemorative plaque bearing the number 100 by NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko to mark his 100th cap milestone for the Super Eagles.
Portugal opened the scoring through Chelsea star Pedro Neto in the 23rd minute with a tidy finish.
In the 36th minute, Akor Adams produced a clinical finish in the box to restore parity for Nigeria.
Francisco Conceicao cut in and curled in a sublime finish in the 75th minute to hand Portugal a hard-fought victory.
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Nigerian football fans took to social media to praise Eric Chelle, and the Super Eagles players for the battling performance against Portugal.
Nneoma was full of admiration for Chelle and his impact in the team, hailing the team’s first half performance.
She wrote on X: “What I saw in the first half, it’s clear that Eric Chelle has made a positive impact on this Super Eagles team.
“If we had qualified for the World Cup, we would have been a team to watch. I know it’s easy to blame the players, but the real culprits are the NFF.
“Why would a football federation refuse to pay players what they are owed until they are forced to protest? Do you know the kind of mental toll that takes on a team?
“In a properly run system, everyone at the NFF would have resigned and accepted responsibility for this embarrassment. Instead, the same cycle of incompetence continues while Nigerian football pays the price.”
Olawale Adigun was also impressed with the team’s performance but called for world class players to be included in the team.
He wrote on X: “We might have competed favourably with this Portugal side playing at mid-tempo BUT there’s a difference between the Super Eagles and the top sides (Morocco and Senegal included).
“Hopefully we get there, but we need more than quantity (depth), we need top drawer players and we only have Two right now (Osimhen and Lookman)”
Official Agt called on the Nigeria Football Federation to give Eric Chelle a new contract , saying the team has improved under his tutelage.
He wrote on X: “Now that the May-June friendlies are over, and the holidays beckon for the players and backroom staff. The NFF should shift focus to extending Chelle’s contract.
“His entourage and the federation should find a middle ground, and his demands SHOULD be met. Zero interference, good working environment, and watch the Super Eagles bloom.
“There is already a good team bond in a few months, and the players absolutely love him the team has improved massively. We MUST keep Eric.”
Asiwaju Lerry hailed the team for giving Portugal a tough time despite the absence of key players.
He wrote: “This is not even the full Super Eagles squad and we are still dominating Portugal with all their stars on the pitch. Nigeria at the World Cup will easily make it to the Quater Final.”
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Similarly, Former Nigerian international Dimeji Lawal praised Maduka Okoye for his performance against Portugal.
He said: “Okoye had an excellent performance against Portugal. I was really impressed with some of the brilliant saves he made to prevent the scoreline from going beyond 2-1.
“He was calm and calculative with his movement. This performance is better than the game against Poland.
“Besides, the two goals he conceded were never his fault and could have beaten any goalkeeper as well.”
Okoye made six saves in the encounter including two quick fire stops to deny Cristiano Ronaldo in the first half.
