Saudi Arabia vs. Nigeria: everything you need to know about the lineup, result, and other details

At the Estádio Municipal de Portimo in Portugal on Friday night, Nigeria will play Saudi Arabia in a global friendly.

The international friendly game will begin at 5 o’clock.

Following this week’s match with Saudi Arabia, Nigeria will play Mozambique in another friendly the following week.

The Super Eagles’ November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Lesotho will be preceded by both games.

The most recent game between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia took place in 2010 in Austria and finished in a scoreless tie.

FIFA has already named Portuguese official Luis Godinho as the official referee for the international exhibition game between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.

Compatriots Bruno Jesus, Tiago Costa, and Miguel Noguera will serve as Godinho’s first, second, and fourth officials, respectively.

Also nominated by FIFA were Helder Carvalho and Bruno Vieira, who will work together to manage the situation in the VAR room.

Team Nigeria news

The Super Eagles’ head coach, Jose Peseiro, has already invited 25 players to camp in preparation for the upcoming friendlies against Mozambique and Saudi Arabia.

Gift Orban, a gentle forward, is not on the roster. Terem Moffi of Nice was instead invited because he was not included in Nigeria’s last match against Sao Tome and Principe.

Due to injury, the attacking midfielder for Nottingham Forest, Taiwo Awoniyi, will miss Nigeria’s two friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

In recent training with Nottingham Forest, Awoniyi suffered a groyne injury that might keep him out for up to a month.

READ ALSO: Saudi Arabian coach releases his 31-man roster for the Super Eagles match

Awoniyi’s injury was announced by Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper ahead to his team’s Premier League 0-0 tie with Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Ola Aina, a defender for Nottingham Forest, is also injured and will miss the two friendlies.

Peseiro included Aina in the 25-man roster for both contests.

However, Aina’s Premier League team, Nottingham Forest, has since made it known that the injury is to a muscle.

The elite player’s anticipated return date is currently unknown.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru received his first invitation to the team from Peseiro while still playing club football for Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor.

For the friendly match, Peseiro’s team will set up camp in Faro, Portugal, on Tuesday.

In their last six games, Nigeria has defeated Sao Tome, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau (two-legs), Portugal, and Costa Rica three times.

News about the Saudi team:

Saudi Arabia has dropped all six of their games entering the matchup against Nigeria.

Against South Korea, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, and Poland, the Asian superpower came up short.

The Green Falcons, who hired Roberto Mancini as their new coach in August, will be aiming for their first victory.

Mancini has already released his 31-man roster for this week’s match against Nigeria and next week’s match against Mali.

Thirty-one Saudi Arabian players were called up by the former Manchester City manager, with Al-Hilal providing the most (12).

Nigeria’s likely starting lineup:

Victor Boniface, Wilfred Ndidi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Oluwasemilogo Ajayi, Kenneth Omeruo, Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Francis Uzoho.

Predicted starting lineup for Saudi Arabia:

Mohammed Al-Owais, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Saud Abulhamid, Salem Al-Dawsari, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohamed Kanno, Eid Al-Muwallad, Firas Al-Buraikan, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan are only a few of the individuals mentioned.

Prediction:

Nigeria is anticipated to defeat Saudi Arabia. Jose Peseiro’s team might win by a score of 2-1.

Isa Saleh Sadiq, a football scout and the CEO of the International Football Academy situated in Northern Nigeria, shared his thoughts on Nigeria’s match against Saudi Arabia with DAILY POST.

This international friendly will be challenging for both teams, according to Sadiq. Under Mancini, the Saudis have failed to record a victory. In my opinion, the team’s first two games under the Italian coach were losses. So I anticipate him to field a strong team that can compete with the Super Eagles.

“Let’s not forget that the Saudi team played in the most recent World Cup in Qatar, where they even overcame eventual tournament winners Argentina. Therefore, I anticipate a competitive game with Nigeria.

Sadiq also expressed his delight that some of the players Peseiro invited to participate in the friendly match did so.

I must commend Peseiro for picking players who are playing well and frequently for their club teams, the man stated. Terem Moffi of OGC Nice, Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru of Hatayaspor, who has been called up for the first time to the national team, make me extremely glad.

“However, I’m not happy that [Olorunleke] Ojo, the custodian for Enyimba FC, was the only local player from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) to make the list.

I’m not sure why Peseiro did not invite three to five home-based players at the very least for this game. I’m not sure if it was because the domestic league had just begun, but he has his reasons, and I hope they use local players in future games. This raises the spirits of NPFL players.

When asked to provide a prediction for the match, Sadiq responded, “Well, the last time these two teams played, they drew goalless, which was nearly ten years ago. Both of our squads now feature a fresh group of players.

“However, as I have mentioned, I don’t believe the game will be simple for either team. I anticipate a challenging game with a close result. “Nigeria won by a score of 1-0 or a 1-1 tie,” claimed Sadiq.