Iwobi Joins Eagles As Team Arrives in Lisbon for Portugal Friendly
*Genk defender Chris Akpan also in camp, Chukwueze expected to arrive today
Duro Ikhazuagbe
After missing the Poland friendly in Warsaw on Wednesday night, Fulham midfielder, Alex Iwobi, has linked up with the rest of the Super Eagles as the team touched down in Lisbon on Thursday evening.
Nigeria and Portugal will engage in an international friendly next week Wednesday at the Estadio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria with kickoff at 8.45pm (Portugal on same time zone as Nigeria).
Unlike Poland, Portugal qualified for the 2026 World Cup and will be parading most of their top stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Paris St-Germain quartet of Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos amongst other stars.
Media Officer of the Super Eagles, Promise Efoghe, confirmed the arrival of Iwobi last night.
He also admitted that AC Milan winger, Samuel Chukwueze who played on loan at Fulham last season, is also expected in camp in Lisbon this morning.
“Alex Iwobi and Genk defender Christian Akpan have joined others in Lisbon; Samuel Chukwueze is expected on Friday,” the Media Officer confirmed on the team’s WhatsApp page on Thursday night.
Apart from Rafiu Durosinmi who was excused to attend to private matters, all 19 players from the Poland friendly are in camp in Lisbon ahead of their June 10 fixture.
Although he’s not yet in camp, there were speculations last night that Bright Osayi-Samuel could rejoin the squad. Osayi’s position was well defend by new boy, Abdullahi Bewene as he didn’t respect the Polish front line led by Robert Lewandowski.
Speaking about his first game for the Nigerian side, Bewene said he was proud to make his Super Eagles.
The Czech-based defender played the entire duration as Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw by the home team in Warsaw.
“I’m very happy and proud to represent my country, I’m ready to give more of this,” Bewene said.
Meanwhile, following the loss of focus towards the last few minutes of the game that led to the equalizer from Poland, both Calvin Bassey and Wilfred Ndidi have insisted that it was time such habits should give way.
In separate interview after the match, Bassey submitted that the Super Eagles seemingly lack of mental strength to hold on their leads is something that must be worked on. “It is important that we must see out our games, this is something we must have to work on,” Bassey said.
He noted that maintaining concentration until the final whistle remains a key lesson for the team as they continue to develop their chemistry and tactical understanding.
Team captain, Ndidi, stressed that the Super Eagles must till the last whistle c
in all their games. “We always try as much as possible to get a win in every game. With our philosophy, with our vision, and most importantly, we must try to be at our best and try to see if we win our games, most especially, when we are leading, always.”