Portugal faced Nigeria in Leiria on Wednesday, another step in a World Cup build-up that now has less than a week to run before its first group game against the DR Congo. For Cristiano Ronaldo, it also carried the feel of a final lap: he was expected to play in what would likely be his last major tournament with the national team.
The timing gave the friendly real weight. Portugal won the Euro 2016 tournament and the UEFA Nations League twice, but its recent World Cup story has been less tidy, with quarterfinal runs punctuated by a defeat in Qatar last time out. Wednesday's match was meant to sharpen a side that had already been put through a test on Saturday, when Portugal beat Chile 2-1.
That win was not clean, even if the scoreline was. Gonçalo Guedes and Bruno Fernandes scored in the second half, Chile pulled one back late, and both teams were reduced to 10 men on the stroke of halftime. Portugal came through it, but not in the fluent way a polished rehearsal usually demands.
Nigeria offered a different kind of check. It had reached six of the previous eight World Cup tournaments and made the knockout stages on a couple of occasions, yet it was kept out of this summer's event by the DR Congo, which advanced through the inter-confederation playoffs in March. That made the meeting in Leiria more than a routine friendly: it was Portugal's rare second game against an opponent it had beaten 4-0 when they first met in 2022.
The matchup also landed in the shadow of the group stage itself. Portugal was only likely to be seriously tested by Colombia there, which makes the opening against the DR Congo even more important as a measure of where the squad stands before the tournament starts to tighten. Ronaldo's presence, or even his minutes, remains the unanswered piece. What is clear is that Portugal has one last dress rehearsal before the World Cup begins in earnest, and the next meaningful answer will have to come against the DR Congo.
