International Football
NINE DAYS TO FINAL DRAW: TIMELESS CLASHES OF THE WORLD CUP
It is nine days to the Final Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The highlight of draw ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is the matching of teams against the others.
In the first instance the 32 teams are broken into quartets of eight groups that will engage in a 48-match group stage before another 16-match knock-out stage.
In all, there will be 64 matches. But Sports Village Square can inform that some fixtures are often recurring. Till date, there have been 836 matches played since the World Cup kicked off on July 13, 1930 with a France versus Mexico encounter.
Of the matches played so far, there have been a number of recurring matches and often featuring the same teams’ pairings.
Sports Village Square recalls that top of such is the Brazil versus Sweden. This fixture had featured seven times in the past to rank as the most recurring fixture in the World Cup.
The last time the two clashed was however 23 years ago at the semi finals of USA ’94.
But this match up will not hold at Brazil 2014 since Sweden failed at the qualifying series. Two of the seven clashes of Sweden and Brazil involved legendary Brazilian players.
The 1958 clash featured Pele who was then 17 and later became a major factor in the first of Brazil’s five titles to date.
Another recurring fixture involved Germany and the former Yugoslavia. None of the match-ups took place beyond the group stage.
The next recurring matches are Brazil versus Spain, Brazil – Czechoslovakia, Argentina versus Germany and Brazil versus Italy. The latter will not occur at Russia 2018 as Italy failed to qualify.
There have been five instances of those matches as well as Argentina versus England, France versus Italy, Germany versus Italy and Argentina facing Italy.
The pairings of Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Germany have produced six final matches and three semi finals. Brazil played Italy twice in the final while Argentina and Germany have also competed against each other twice in a final match.
Italy have played against past winners such as Brazil, Germany and France. Brazil and Germany have been to the World Cup finals more than any other country. Yet, the head to head clash of the two was a rarity until they met at the 2002 final match. The only other time they met was at Brazil 2014 when Germany humiliated their hosts, 7-1 in the semi finals.
With that, all the seven past winners of the world Cup have met. As for Nigeria, the commonest foe has been Argentina which the Super Eagles have faced on four of previous World Cup appearances. They met in 1994, 2002, 2010 and 2014.
Next among the teams Nigeria met more than one occasion are Bulgaria and Greece. Nigeria met both twice. The Super Eagles beat Bulgaria 3-0 in 1994 and 1-0 in 1998.
Greece lost 2-0 to the Super Eagles in 1994 and had a sweet revenge of a 2-1 win in 2010. That was the first time Greece ever won a match in the World Cup. The second time was the defeat of Cote d’Ivoire at Brazil 2014.
Most Recurring World Cup Matches
- Sweden versus Brazil – 7 times
- Germany versus former Yugoslavia – 6 times
- Brazil versus Spain – five times
- Brazil versus former Czechoslovakia – five times
- Brazil versus Italy – five times
- France versus Italy – five times
- Germany versus Italy – five times
- Argentina versus Italy – five times
- Argentina versus Germany – five times
- Argentina versus England – five times
- Argentina versus Nigeria – four times
Nigeria’s Super Eagles put up a spirited performance but were edged 2-1 by Portugal in an international friendly at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria on Wednesday night.
The match served as Portugal’s final tune-up ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and offered the Nigerians a chance to test themselves against one of Europe’s leading sides led by veteran captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal drew first blood in the 23rd minute when Pedro Neto broke the deadlock, firing past Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye after a lively opening period in which both teams created opportunities.
The Super Eagles responded positively and were rewarded eight minutes before halftime when striker Akor Adams found the equaliser. The goal capped an impressive Nigerian fightback and ensured the teams went into the break level at 1-1.
Ronaldo, making a rare appearance against Nigeria, started the match and remained on the pitch until the 67th minute. The 41-year-old was given a standing ovation by the home crowd when he was replaced by Gonçalo Ramos.
Portugal made several changes after the interval as coach Roberto Martinez rotated his squad in preparation for the World Cup. Despite the substitutions, the hosts continued to press for a winner.
Their persistence paid off in the 75th minute when Francisco Conceição struck the decisive goal, restoring Portugal’s lead and ultimately securing victory for the European side.
Nigeria battled to find another equaliser in the closing stages but Portugal’s defence held firm to preserve the 2-1 result.
The defeat means Portugal have now won both meetings between the two countries. Their first encounter came in Lisbon in November 2022, when the Portuguese recorded a convincing 4-0 victory in a pre-World Cup friendly.
While the result will disappoint Nigerian supporters, the Super Eagles can take encouragement from their resilient display against one of the teams widely tipped to make a strong impact at the World Cup. Akor Adams’ goal and Nigeria’s competitive showing against a star-studded Portuguese side provided positive signs as the team continues its rebuilding process under the national team set-up.
For Portugal, the victory provides a confidence boost as they head to North America, where they hope their talented midfield and experienced squad can propel them to a successful World Cup campaign.
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Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the starting line-up when the Selecao take on Nigeria in an international friendly match which kicks off in a few minutes tonight.
The 41-year-old forward, who remains a key figure in the Portuguese national team, has been named among the starters as Portugal continue preparations for upcoming competitive fixtures.
Ronaldo’s inclusion is expected to add further excitement to the encounter, with Nigerian fans eager to see one of football’s greatest players in action against the Super Eagles.
The match offers Nigeria another opportunity to test themselves against top European opposition, while Portugal will look to sharpen their squad ahead of future international assignments.
Kick-off is scheduled for later tonight, with both teams expected to field strong line-ups in what promises to be an entertaining contest.
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By Kunle Solaja
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Portugal will meet for only the second time at the senior level when they clash in an international friendly in Leiria on Wednesday night.
The encounter comes under remarkably similar circumstances to their first meeting in November 2022, when Portugal defeated Nigeria 4-0 in Lisbon just days before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Once again, Portugal are using Nigeria as their final warm-up match before the World Cup. Four years ago, the Portuguese selected the Super Eagles to prepare for a group-stage clash against Ghana, the team that denied Nigeria a place at Qatar 2022.
History appears to be repeating itself. This time, Portugal are preparing for a World Cup opening fixture against the Democratic Republic of Congo, another team that shattered Nigeria’s World Cup ambitions by eliminating the Super Eagles from the qualification race.
The match at the 29,000-capacity Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa offers Nigeria an opportunity to avenge the heavy defeat suffered four years ago and test themselves against one of Europe’s strongest sides.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has assembled a star-studded squad featuring five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Rafael Leão and João Félix.
The Portuguese head into the encounter unbeaten in their last four matches, having recorded victories over the United States and Chile while drawing with Mexico.
Nigeria, under coach Eric Chelle, have also enjoyed an impressive run. Since taking charge 15 months ago, the Franco-Malian tactician has overseen 24 matches and suffered only one defeat in regulation time.
With both teams carrying impressive recent records, Wednesday’s friendly promises to be far more competitive than the scoreline from their last meeting suggests.
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