What Super Eagles must do better against Portugal – Fulham star

Fulham and Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has outlined how Nigeria can improve ahead of their upcoming friendly against Portugal, Afrik-Foot reports.

Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw by Poland on Wednesday night despite leading twice and were just seconds away from securing victory, before conceding a late equalizer.

While several regulars returned to the squad after missing the Unity Cup tournament in London, where the Super Eagles defeated Zimbabwe and Jamaica to win a fourth title, the likes of Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen and Alex Iwobi were notable absentees.

Terem Moffi gave Nigeria the lead inside the opening 25 minutes, but Poland responded in first-half stoppage time through Kacper Potulski to make it 1-1 at the break.

Nigeria went ahead again in the second half after VAR awarded a penalty for a handball, which was converted confidently by Paul Onuachu to restore the lead.

However, Poland struck again in stoppage time through Przemyslaw Wisniewski, who fired a powerful long-range effort past Maduka Okoye to level the match at 2-2 and deny the Super Eagles a win.

Super Eagles: Bassey identifies area of improvement ahead of Portugal clash

Nigeria delivered a solid performance in Wednesday’s draw against Poland, but will be frustrated after failing to see out the win despite leading twice.

The two goals they conceded came late in each half, as they struggled to properly manage the game in the closing stages, which also ended their run of two consecutive clean sheets.

Fulham defender Bassey, who came on at half-time for Igoh Ogbu, has admitted that the team must improve on their concentration to avoid conceding more late goals, especially with a tougher test against Portugal coming up.

“We should have got the win. Two late goals in both halves. It shows there was something we could adjust”, Bassey said, via Ubuntu Pitch.

Despite the disappointment, the Super Eagles will quickly turn their attention to their next fixture against 2016 European champions Portugal next Wednesday.

After that, Nigeria will begin preparations for the 2027 AFCON qualifiers in September, where they will face Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, and co-hosts Tanzania in Group L.