The Super Eagles and Brazil played out a 1-1 draw in their senior international friendly at the Singapore National Stadium in Kallang on Sunday.
Goals from Nigeria’s Joe Aribo and Selecao’s Casemiro in the 35th and 48th minutes ensured the tie ended in a stalemate.
Aribo, who scored on his debut in the friendly against Ukraine in Dnipro last month, kept his cool after receiving a pass from Moses Simon and ghosting past Casemiro and Thiago Silva to shoot past Ederson for the opener.
The Selecao launched an onslaught in the second half and equalised in the 48th minute as Casemiro reacted faster than the Nigerian defence when the ball bounced off the crossbar from a Marquinhos header.
Brazil superstar Neymar was forced to quit after only 12 minutes, due to injury. The 27-year-old, making his 101st appearance for the national team, held the back of his left thigh as he left the pitch and was replaced by Philippe Coutinho.
Also, Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho sustained an injury after twisting his leg as he went for the ball from a Brazilian corner after 62 minutes of play.
Uzoho was stretchered off holding his thigh and replaced with Maduka Okoye, who also showed calmness in his display.
After the match, the NFF in a statement described the Eagles performance as “strong and competent.”
“The result was a huge confidence booster for the Super Eagles, who begin their race to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Lesotho next month. It was also a huge improvement from Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat to the Selecao in a friendly match in Abuja in June 2003,” the football body added.
