Portugal 2-1 Nigeria: the World Cup starts tomorrow and I still don't know if Ronaldo is ready
I've been watching Portugal prepare for World Cups for a long time. And every single time, there's a moment in the last warm-up where you think one of two things: "we're going to win this" or "this is going to be a disaster." Today in Leiria I genuinely didn't know which one to think. And I suspect Roberto Martínez went home tonight feeling exactly the same way.
Portugal beat Nigeria 2-1 in what was the last game before the squad flies to the United States. Tomorrow, Mexico vs South Africa kicks off the tournament. On June 17th, Portugal face DR Congo in their opening group game. Between now and then there are no more friendlies, no more rehearsals, no more chances to fix what went wrong. What we saw today in Leiria — the good, the bad, the Ronaldo — is what it is. The exam starts in seven days.
What actually happened
The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa was packed. Almost sold out. The people of Leiria came in force for the national team's farewell and the atmosphere was exactly what you'd want going into a World Cup — loud, warm, genuinely excited. The kind of stadium noise that makes you remember why you love football in the first place.
The first half started well enough. Portugal were dominant in possession, Nelson Semedo was causing problems down the right with those trademark overlapping runs, and Francisco Trincão — who had a genuinely excellent first half — was making defenders uncomfortable everywhere he went. On 23 minutes, a combination that summed up everything good about this Portugal team when it clicks: Trincão drives at the defence, lays it to Diogo Dalot, Dalot whips in a precise cutback, and Pedro Neto — arriving late from midfield — guides it into the bottom left corner with his left foot. Clinical. Exactly the kind of goal that makes you think this team can beat anyone.
Neto hadn't scored for Portugal in seven months by the way. Since November 2024. The timing couldn't have been better.
Then came the hydration break. And then came the Nigeria equalizer. And this is where I need to talk about Gonçalo Inácio.
The Sporting defender has had an extraordinary club season — he was one of the best centre-backs in the Portuguese league all year. But today was not his day. Akor Adams — a physical, direct striker who's exactly the profile Portugal will face throughout this World Cup — received the ball and drove straight at the Portugal backline. He bullied his way past the challenge, got into the area, and his shot went through Diogo Costa's legs. 1-1. The kind of goal that happens when a defender goes too tight, gets beaten, and then the goalkeeper doesn't cover his angles.
Half-time. 1-1. Martínez walks into the dressing room and decides to change essentially the entire team. Not one or two. Not a few tactical tweaks. NINE outfield changes at once. Nine. The only two players who started the second half from the original eleven were Diogo Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That decision alone will be debated for days.
Ronaldo and the chances that didn't go in
Let's talk about it because we'd be pretending if we didn't.
Cristiano Ronaldo had three clear chances today. Three moments where, if this were 2016 or 2018 or even 2022, the ball would have been in the net. In the third minute, he shot wide with his right foot when the goal was there. At eight minutes, he was clean through on goal — isolated in front of the Nigerian goalkeeper, the kind of chance he's scored a thousand times — and his right-footed shot went left of target. And then later, Bruno Fernandes clipped a perfectly weighted ball over the top and Ronaldo arrived at the back post by inches, just missing the connection.
Three chances. Zero goals. And at 65 minutes, Martínez took him off for Gonçalo Ramos.
The international press noticed. The Spanish AS talked about his "lack of accuracy." A Bola described him as "awkward and frustrated." Craig Burley on ESPN spent significant airtime debating whether Martínez should even start him against DR Congo on June 17th. I'm not going to go that far — I think Ronaldo starts, because that's who he is and what he means to this team. But I also think anyone watching today with honest eyes knows that something is off. The hunger is there, the movement is there, the desire to score is viscerally obvious every time he touches the ball. But the finishing that made him the greatest goalscorer in history is... stuttering.
Maybe it's a friendly. Maybe it's the pressure of a last game before a World Cup. Maybe it's just one of those days. But when the newspaper in his home country calls you "awkward" and the goalkeeper coach for Nigeria probably spent five minutes telling his players that the Portuguese captain was shooting wide — it's not nothing. Rafael Leão wasn't available today (suspended after the red card against Chile in the previous warm-up), and without that pace and directness on the left, Portugal looked blunter in those moments when Ronaldo was struggling to find his groove.
Conceição saves the day
Enter Francisco Conceição. The young Juventus winger who came on at half-time as part of the mass substitution. And who, in the 75th minute, produced the moment that will be on the highlights reel.
João Cancelo — who also came on at half-time and immediately looked sharper than Dalot in the first half — found Conceição on the right. The 22-year-old received the ball, took one touch to set himself, cut inside onto his left foot, and hit a low, hard shot across goal that Maduka Okoye had absolutely no chance of stopping. Bottom corner. 2-1. The kind of goal that makes you think "this kid should be starting."
And honestly? Looking at what he produced in 45 minutes today, and what Semedo produced in the first half, there are genuine selection battles that Martínez now has to resolve before June 17th. Does Conceição start? Does Semedo keep his place ahead of Dalot? Who partners Gonçalo Inácio in central defence given what happened today? There are more questions than answers coming out of this game and the clock is ticking.
João Félix had moments — a shot saved well by Okoye, and a header that came off the crossbar in a moment where everyone in Leiria held their breath and thought it had crossed the line. João Neves was absolutely everywhere in his half, pressing, winning the ball, making himself available, being the kind of engine that allows the more creative players to do their thing. If Portugal are going to go deep in this World Cup, Neves will be central to why. He had one of those performances that doesn't get enough headlines because he doesn't score or assist but the team doesn't function without him.
The Nigeria factor — more useful than it looks
Here's something I think is underappreciated about today's match. The choice of Nigeria as the final preparation opponent wasn't random. Akor Adams — who scored the equalizer — is a powerful, direct striker who drives at defences, is hard to knock off the ball, and is quick in behind. That's a very specific profile.
DR Congo have Cédric Bakambu. Uzbekistan (also in Portugal's group) have Eldor Shomurodov. Both strikers fit a similar mould. When Portugal face those teams over the next few weeks, they will encounter exactly the kind of attack that Nigeria gave them today. The defensive error that led to the goal — Inácio going too tight, Dalot out of position, Costa wrong-footed — is precisely what could happen against Bakambu on June 17th if the back line doesn't get its act together.
So in a weird way, the Nigeria goal might be the most useful thing that happened today. Better to make that mistake now and fix it than make it in the actual tournament.
Where does this leave Portugal?
Two warm-up games played. Two wins by exactly 2-1. Portugal beat Chile 2-1 at the Jamor, and now Nigeria 2-1 in Leiria. The results are fine. The performances have been... mixed.
The positives: Neto finding his scoring form. Conceição showing he deserves to start. Semedo looking like a real option at right-back. Neves confirming he's the engine of this team. The collective structure under Martínez — the high press, the quick transitions, the full-back involvement — is clearly there and clearly understood by the squad.
The concerns: Ronaldo missing three clear chances in a friendly seven days before the tournament. Inácio's error. The lack of creativity in the first half before Conceição and Félix came on. And the strange feeling that this team is better with its substitutes than its starters, which is an odd thing to say about a squad with the depth Portugal have.
Martínez said after the game that he's satisfied, that the team is ready, that every player who played today showed they deserve to be at the World Cup. He said the right things in the right tone. But when a journalist asked him about Ronaldo, he was careful — very careful — with his words. He talked about Ronaldo's importance to the group, his leadership, his desire. He didn't say "he was brilliant today." Because he wasn't.
The World Cup starts tomorrow. Portugal's first game is June 17th against DR Congo. And somewhere in the Portugal dressing room tonight, Cristiano Ronaldo is probably doing one thing. Thinking about the three chances he missed. Replaying each one. Running them back in his mind's eye. He's done it a thousand times before — turned frustration into fuel, turned a bad day into a statement game.
June 17th in Kansas City. Ronaldo scores. Portugal win 3-0. I'm almost certain that's what he's picturing right now.
I hope he's right. I really do. Because Portugal — this generation, this squad, this collection of talent — deserves to finally win one of these things. And the man who wants it most, the one who's chased it his entire career, is still right there in the middle of it.
All or nothing. Starting in seven days.