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Portugal will depart for the World Cup in Qatar in high spirits after teaching Nigeria a lesson in football.
Nigeria's Super Eagles were at the receiving end of a proper hammering during an international friendly on Thursday in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Super Eagles went, saw and got humiliated 4-0 by their World Cup-bound counterparts the Selecao Portugal at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes was the inspiration for the Portuguese in the absence of his legendary teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernandes scored a first-half brace to give Portugal a dominant and comfortable lead at the break before Joao Mario and Goncalo Ramos added two late goals in the second half to wrap up proceedings.
For the West African giants, Emmanuel Dennis made himself the biggest villain after he came off the bench to miss a decisive penalty that proved costly as it denied the Super Eagles a chance to be back in the game at 2-1.
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With that said, let's take a look at the numbers behind another poor outing from Jose Peseiro and his Eagles.
Possession
It was a dominant performance and win on the night from the home side, Portugal, who made the Super Eagles look ordinary, especially in that opening half.
The Selecao had 67% of the ball compared to just 33% for Super Eagles, while later became 46% to 54% in an improved second-half showing from the Nigerians.
Overall, the Portuguese finished the game with 57% control of the game and ensured it counted in the end.
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Passes
In terms of passes, Portugal attempted 376 and completed 341 of them while the Eagles managed 158 passes in the first half.
The second half saw the Eagles almost match their host, with 235 passes compared to Portugal's 242 completed.
Attempts
It was the same for goal attempts, the Super Eagles had an opening 45 minutes to forget - it was woeful.
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Nigeria managed just one attempt in the first half as Portugal, with seven attempts, pegged the team back in their half.
This improved in the second as well, with both teams locked at five attempts each.
Flop of the game: Joe Aribo
It was Another game the Southampton man has failed to impose himself in the game for the Super Eagles.
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He was sloppy in and out of possession and failed to create a single chance in the game.
In summary
The Super Eagles started slowly after a poor first half and paid a heavy price for it as Portugal ran them to the ground.
While the team improved in the second half, they failed to make it count, including getting a penalty with the scoreline at 2-0 and nine minutes left to play.
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As reported by Pulse Sports Nigeria before the game, Portugal's chances of winning were at 100% should they open the scoring and this turned out to be the case.
It was a footballing lesson for Jose Peseiro and his boys, who have to go back to the famous drawing board to work on starting future games stronger and taking their chances.
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