Head coach of Portugal Roberto Martinez is in agreement with head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria that the team is different from their first opponent when the World Cup begins in DR Congo, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Portugal will tomorrow take on Nigeria in an international friendly game meant to put them in a good stead ahead of their clash against a fellow African team in DR Congo.
Head coach of the Nigerian team Eric Chelle had earlier in his pre match conference played down the similarities between his team and DR Congo, who ironically knocked Nigeria out of the world cup with a penalty shoot out win at the playoff in November.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game, Martinez agreed with Chelle but pointed out certain similarities in the manner which both teams play.
He started by playing down the 4-0 win over Nigeria in Lisbon three years ago. “I wasn’t aware of the last result between Portugal and Nigeria”, the coach said before going into the difference between Nigeria and DR Congo.
“For us, the main reason this match is important is because there are certain similarities with Congo. The qualities of Nigeria’s attacking players will help us work on defensive situations that we’ll likely face against Congo. expect Nigeria to be very competitive.
“I enjoyed watching their recent match against Poland. I really like the coach’s ideas. The team is tactically flexible and uses different systems that allow different players to perform in different roles.
Speaking further he said he expects Super Eagles to be competitive despite the absence of their two top forwards in Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. He also said he knows star defender Calvin Bassey really well.
“Even without players like Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, they have replacements capable of maintaining a very high level of performance. So I expect a very competitive game, with quality players and a lot of experience. There are players such as Calvin Bassey whom I know very well.
“I think it will be a competitive match that will help both teams in many ways.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
