Russia vs Nigeria

On Friday evening, Russia hosts Nigeria at Luzhniki Stadium for a historic first senior-level friendly match between the two nations.

The European side comes off a strong performance in March, while Nigeria, known as the Super Eagles, celebrated a recent victory over Jamaica via penalties to claim the Unity Cup over the weekend.

Since their suspension from competitive play in February 2022, Russia has maintained activity through a series of friendly matches to stay sharp. Their last official game was against Croatia in 2021, and following their exclusion from international tournaments due to the Ukraine conflict, the team has focused on exhibition games, primarily against non-European and non-Western nations.

In their latest friendly in March, Russia dominated Zambia with a 5-0 win, extending their winning streak to eight games. During this run, they’ve scored an impressive 45 goals without conceding a single one. However, facing Nigeria, their toughest opponent in recent times, will test their current form.

Nigeria enters the match in Moscow with an unbeaten streak of six games across all competitions, including three victories, two draws, and their recent penalty shootout win. After a narrow 2-1 win over rivals Ghana last Wednesday, they drew 2-2 with Jamaica before securing the mini-tournament title on penalties.

This friendly offers Nigeria a chance to fine-tune their strategies ahead of critical World Cup qualifiers in September. Under coach Eric Chelle, the Super Eagles need a strong performance in their final four preliminary matches, having earned only seven points from their first six.

Currently fourth in their group, they trail leaders South Africa by six points, with pivotal games against Rwanda, South Africa, Lesotho, and Benin Republic looming after this clash.