Saudi Arabia Holds Super Eagles To A Draw

Super Eagles of Nigeria on Friday kickstart there international friendly campaign with a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia at the Estádio Municipal de Portimao, Portugal. 

The three-time AFCON champions were unable to hold on to there 2-1 lead as the last attempt by the Green Falcons found the back of the net.

With the first half ending in a barring stalemate, Francis Uzoho was outclassed by Salman Al-Faraj freekick which proved to be the opener in the 60th minute.

Super Eagles showed the spirit of champions as substitute Moses Simons’ cross forced Abdulelah Al-Amri to put the ball at the back of his own net.

Also Read: AFCON 2023: Super Eagles Drawn Alongside Host Cote d’Ivoire

In the 81st minute, a beautiful comeback story was written for the Super Eagles as Kelechi Iheanacho lynched on a lose ball to find the top left corner of the post.

New boss Roberto Mancini and his men however had other plans for the night as Joe Aribo’s close range foul was converted with few seconds to go.

It was the second time of the night that Uzoho was outclassed by a Saudi Arabian freekick.

Nigeria who looked to start their international friendly on a high will now shift their attention to Monday when they face fellow Africans, Mozambique at the same venue.

This draw comes a day after Super Eagles were placed in group A alongside Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau in Group A of AFCON 2023.