SCORENigeria unpacks the highlights of the Super Eagles 2-1 loss to Portugal in a friendly played in Leira Wednesday night.

10. Maduka Okoye is the Super Eagles No 1 goalkeeper now on the evidence of his performances against both Poland and Portugal. He pulled off several big saves to make the loss respectable. Stanley Nwabali would have to fight to reclaim the No 1 spot. His Sofascore rating 7.5 points, the highest for a Nigerian player.

GOAL IN PORTUGAL

Poor making from Zaidu.

Maduka Okoye beating again as Portugal leads Nigeria 2-1.pic.twitter.com/PyxrtHkMNl

— MR OLAWALE QUADRI (@QualityQuadry) June 10, 2026

9. The Super Eagles understandably did not create as many chances against the fifth best team in the world, who dominated and should have won by a bigger margin but wastefulness of Cristiano Ronaldo and some saves by Okoye. The gulf in class between the two teams was obvious.

8. The Eagles were not much of a threat going forward and would certainly have done with the presence of both Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. At such a level of the game, your best players would stand you in good stead.

7. The time has come for Nigeria to go past wingers Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon. Femi Azeez, for one, proved this at the recent Unity Cup, while Zadok Yohanna has the potential to also make his way into this squad.

6.Genk youngster Christian Akpan was thrust into the deepend on his debut. He was not out of place, but was not as convincing as the other young rightback, Abdullahi Bewene, who again caught the eye in his second game for the country.

5.The high intensity and pressing game coach Eric Chelle wants his team to play is coming through, but it was also concerning that the team suffered high turnovers particularly around their goal area.

4.Captain Wilfred Ndidi still has the legs and injury permitting, he will be around to lead this exciting new team to success after success after the recent disasters. He posted a 90% pass accuracy, made four recoveries, won an interception and eight duels.

3.Calvin Bassey remains the pillar of the back four. He was not intimidated by the quality of the opposition he faced and so came away with another solid performance for the country.

2. There is a fresh impetus for the Super Eagles going forward after the disaster of missing out on two successive World Cups.

1. Hopefully, the Super Eagles have moved on from the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and the target now is to go on to win a fourth AFCON in East Africa next year.

The post 10 Points from Portugal 2 Super Eagles 1 first appeared on Score Nigeria.

The final day of the NPFL season – Sunday, May 24 – will bring the curtains down on one of the most exciting ever editions of the league as the title race, the two remaining teams to be relegated as well as the player to finish as Goal King will all be the decided then.

As things stand…

Title race goes down to the wire

Bottom-two Bayelsa Utd & Wikki relegated#NPFL26 pic.twitter.com/MzGhyj6OnA

— NPFL (@NigeriaPFL) May 10, 2026

Enugu Rangers remained top of the standings going into the final day of action after they beat Bendel Insurance 2-1 at home.

They now have 65 points from 37 matches, a point ahead of second-placed Rivers United, who won 3-2 Sunday to relegate Wikki Tourist to the second-tier NNL.

For the final day, Rangers will be away to fourth-placed Ikorodu City, who need to win to topple Shooting Stars, who sit in third place and hold the final continental ticket on offer in the competition.

Shooting Stars face a daunting trip to relegation-threatened Niger Tornadoes, who have to win and hope other results go their way for them to stay up in the top division.

Rivers United, on the other hand, will be expected to beat Katsina United at home.

A win for the Port Harcourt outfit and a draw or loss by Rangers will give coach Finidi George his second NPFL championship as a coach.

37 down

Just one more matchweek left in #NPFL26 pic.twitter.com/E7nL97A83w

— NPFL (@NigeriaPFL) May 10, 2026

The fight for survival will involve a lot more clubs as only eighth-placed Katsina United and the rest of the front runners are mathematically safe.

Besides Tornadoes, Warri Wolves are the other teams in the relegation zone with 46 points, same as three other struggling clubs – Remo Stars, Kun Khalifat and Enyimba.

Remo Stars are away to Bendel Insurance, Kun Khalifat home to already relegated Wikki Tourist, while Enyimba battle El Kanemi Warriors in front of their home fans.

El Kanemi Warriors, Plateau United and Kwara United are all on 47 points each and so remain in serious danger of going down on the final day of the campaign.

Plateau United know a home win over Kano Pillars will get them across the finish line, while Kwara United will be away to already relegated Bayelsa United.

It is still therefore too close to call the two other teams to be demoted to the second division.

It is also a close contest for the NPFL Goal King prize for the season.

Enugu Rangers striker Godwin Obaje leads the race with 14 goals, while Joseph Arumala (Ikorodu City) and Victor Mbaoma (Remo Stars) are both on 13 goals.

Michael Chidera of Enyimba is on 11 goals, while as many as five players have each scored 10 goals thus far.

The post ANALYSIS: It’s fight to finish on NPFL final day first appeared on Score Nigeria.

It is now a shootout involving three players for the NPFL Goal King prize after Victor Mbaoma fired his 12th goal of the season for Remo Stars.

The experienced striker scored his team’s consolation goal in a 2-1 loss at his former club Enyimba Sunday.

Joseph Arumala of Ikorodu City and Uche Collins from Katsina United are also on 12 goals each.

The 29-year-old Mbaoma, who has previously featured in Algeria and Rwanda, is gunning for a second NPFL Goal King crown after he first won it at Enyimba in the 2021 season.

Godwin Obaje (Enugu Rangers) and Emeka Obioma (Abia Warriors) have thus far netted 11 goals each to pile the pressure on the NPFL leading scorers, while several other players have scored 10 goals apiece.

The post NPFL Goals Race: Mbaoma joins 3-player shootout first appeared on Score Nigeria.