Friendly: Nigeria Draw Saudi Arabia In Portugal

By - LagosCityReporters 14 October 2023 Comments (0) 2 Mins Read

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria drew with Saudi Arabia in the international friendly that took place in Portugal earlier today, October 13.

It was a keenly contested friendly game at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, as the Saudi Arabian side were very close to causing an upset.

In the first half, the Super Eagles dominated the game and had a series of chances but failed to convert them.

Despite the series of chances for the Nigerian team, it was Saudi Arabia that took the lead in the 60th minute of the second half courtesy of a strike from Salman Al-Faraj.

After the opening goal, Saudi Arabia national football team who are coached by former Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, struggled to maintain their slim lead.

To make things worse for them, Abdulelah Al-Amri scored an own goal in the 73rd minute to bring Nigeria level. In the 81st minute, Kelechi Iheanacho gave the Super Eagles the lead for the first time in the game.

Unfortunately for the Nigerian team, they couldn’t maintain the lead until the game ended as Mohamed Kanno scored the equalizer in the 100th minute.

At the end of the game, Saudi Arabia recorded 53 percent of the possession with four shots, three of which were on target. As for Nigeria, they recorded 47 percent of the ball possession recording 15 shots, five of which were on target as the friendly game ended in a 2-2 draw.