Super Eagles Ready For Poland, Portugal Friendlies
The Super Eagles of Nigeria’s camp in Warsaw, Poland opened on Monday with the arrival of 20 players at the last count as the team intensified preparations ahead of their international friendly against Poland and Portugal.
The Super Eagles began their first training sessions on Monday morning under the supervision of Coach Eric Chele, with captain Wilfred Ndidi among the early arrivals alongside key players such as Moses Simon, Paul Onuachu, Akor Adams, and Frank Onyeka, who took part in the first sessions.
Also in camp are Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho, Arthur Okonkwo, Terem Moffi,Tochukwu Nnadi, Emmanuel Fernandez, Semi Ajayi, Rafiu Durosinmi, Zaidu Sanusi, Igho Ogbu, Raphael Onyedika, Bruno Onyemaechi, Abdullahi Ibrahim, Semi Ajayi and fresh invitee Abdullahi Bewene. More players are expected to link up with the squad before the friendly against Portugal.
The three-time African Champions will face Poland in Warsaw on Wednesday before travelling to Leiria for another friendly against European heavyweight and World Cup Favourites Portugal on June 10.
The match, scheduled to take place at the 58,000-capacity Stadion PGE Narodowy, will mark only the second senior-level meeting between Nigeria and Poland. The two sides previously met on March 23, 2018, when Nigeria secured a 1-0 victory in a World Cup warm-up match in Wroclaw, courtesy of a goal from Victor Moses.
Both teams narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Poland defeated Albania before suffering a 3-2 loss to Sweden in the European playoff final, while Nigeria overcame Gabon but fell to DR Congo in a penalty shootout in the African playoff final.
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Head coach Eric Chelle, who recently guided the Super Eagles to a successful Unity Cup title defence in London, expressed confidence ahead of the encounter.
“We are trying to build a winning culture within this team, and that mentality is very important,” Chelle said. “Some may argue that it is difficult to play matches at this time because many players have been in holiday mode for a couple of weeks, but the job must be done.