As part of the preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers match with Lesotho, Nigeria’s Super Eagles will face Saudi Arabia in an international friendly match on Friday, October 13, 2023 in Portimao, Portugal.
The Nigeria Football Federation announced the friendly on Wednesday in a statement made available to Blueprint Sport.
The clash comes barely a month before the three-time African champions, who lashed Sao Tome and Principe 6-0 in their 2023 AFCON final-day qualification game in Uyo on Sunday, set out on the race for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals with a home game against the Crocodiles of Lesotho.
Within the same FIFA window in November, the Eagles will play their second match of the qualification series, away to the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
Saudi Arabia’s Green Falcons, who play Mali’s Eagles at the same venue four days later, have played Nigeria once at senior level.
The most remarkable clash between both countries remains the opening match of FIFA U20 World Cup (then known as FIFA World Youth Championship) in 1989, in which second half goals Chrstopher Ohenhen and Mutiu Adepoju steered Nigeria to a comeback 2-1 victory over the host nation in Riyadh.
South Africa, Rwanda, and Benin are the other teams in Nigeria’s qualifying group.
The Estadio Municipal de Portimão, in the Algarve, is the home ground of Portimonense S.C. and can seat close to 10,000 spectators.
