Portugal Sees Major Opportunity in Match Against Super Eagles – Chelle

Eric Chelle said that the friendly against Nigeria on Wednesday will give Portugal a chance to fine‑tune their approach for the World Cup group K match against DR Congo.

The Super Eagles and Portugal will meet for the second time at senior level, after a 4–0 defeat for Nigeria in their 2022 friendly.

Portugal, who are also drawn with Uzbekistan and Colombia, will open their World Cup campaign with DR Congo on 17 June.

Speaking in his pre‑match press conference today (Tuesday), Chelle remarked: “It is not a lack of respect; we cannot compare Nigeria and DR Congo. I don’t think about who is the best team, I think about the style of philosophy.”

“I think they (Portugal) want to play an African team maybe because of the intensity of the game, when I speak about that I speak about physicality.”

“So this is a good opportunity for Portugal to play against us because we have already played DR Congo in the World Cup qualifying playoffs and lost on penalties, so maybe they want to see the way they will play against them (DR Congo).”

When asked about facing a star‑filled Portuguese side, Chelle expressed his excitement that his players will be up against a potential World Cup champion.

“We will play against a big team who can become World Cup champions. This is a big team with many big players and we are very happy to have this chance to play them.”

“This is a big game for them and for us and now my only focus is my players and just like he said (Wilfred Ndidi during the pre‑match press conference) about the philosophy and the way we want to play this game, this is not about the result.”

He also reflected on the heavy defeat the Eagles suffered in their last meeting and his objectives for Wednesday’s contest: “Of course four years ago we lost (4‑0) so now maybe we are scared, no, this is not a question about that. The most important goal and objective is to improve in every game, we have to go to the game with a great state of mind and our philosophy of course.”

By James Agberebi