World Cup 2022: Portugal scored outrageous team goal in 4-0 win vs Nigeria | OneFootball

Portugal’s final preparations for the 2022 World Cup could not have gone any smoother.

Fernando Santos’ side faced Nigeria – who haven’t qualified for the tournament – in a friendly on Thursday evening and they emerged with a resounding 4-0 victory.

Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes got himself on the scoresheet twice, with Benfica duo Goncalo Ramos and Joao Mario also finding the back of the net.

Portugal’s captain and record scorer Cristiano Ronaldo missed the game due to a stomach bug and in truth, Fernando Santos’ side looked a far more threatening proposition without him.

Atletico Madrid‘s Joao Felix was one of those drafted in to replace Ronaldo and alongside Andre Silva, he wreaked havoc.

Felix was arguably the star of the show, despite the fact he didn’t score or assist a goal.

The 23-year-old did play a key role in Portugal’s fourth of the night, though. It was a truly wonderful team move as well.

Felix, Ramos and Mario all combined to devastating effect at the José Alvalade Stadium.

Ramos’ skilful flick to assist Mario was marvellous, while the build-up play from Felix was equally good – and suggests he may be worthy of a starting berth at the Qatar World Cup.

Liquid football from Portugal, something we haven’t seen too often under the pragmatic Santos.

Portugal might just be a serious problem in Qatar, despite the fact they’ve been drawn in a reasonably hard group along with Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea.

Here’s how fans reacted to the wonderful team goal from the Euro 2016 winners against Nigeria…

Portugal’s depth looks pretty impressive

One of the key takeaways from the team goal against Nigeria is the fact that the three players at the heart of it may not be in the starting XI to play Ghana on November 24th.

Ronaldo and Rafael Leao will likely come in for Felix and Ramos, while Mario – who’s been electric at Benfica in 2022/23 – may find minutes at the World Cup hard to come by given the wealth of midfield options available to Santos.

The manager is certainly going to have a few selection headaches, particularly with regards to Felix, who really looked a player reborn against Nigeria.

As you’ll see for yourself below…

Video: Felix’s highlights vs Nigeria

The kid is special, very special indeed and without Diego Simeone’s defensive tactics hampering him, Felix could explode at the World Cup. Well, if he’s given the chance to…

Quiz: Can you name all 30 of these ‘streets won’t forget’ players from World Cups?

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