Portugal head to the 2026 World Cup with confidence after a 2-1 win over Nigeria in Leiria, where Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao scored, and players spoke openly about chasing the dream of lifting the trophy in North America.
Roberto Martinez’s team finish their World Cup preparations with two victories from two friendlies, and Opta’s predictive model rates Portugal as fifth favourites for the title, giving the Euro 2016 winners a 7.1% chance of becoming world champions again.
Neto stressed that results and performances across the warm-up games give the squad belief. The Chelsea winger said: "We come away with good feelings, two games, two wins. That's what we wanted. We dealt with our processes, things to improve. We are focused on what's
coming to make the dream come true. God willing, we will succeed. "
Neto also underlined that Portugal’s approach at the World Cup must remain measured and steady. Neto added: "The objective is to win game by game and reach the end. We have to embrace that dream. The Portuguese people know what we have in the team and we also have to believe, game by game, and do our job. "
Against Nigeria, Cristiano Ronaldo missed a clear early chance before Neto struck on 23 minutes with a calm finish into the bottom-right corner. Akor Adams equalised before half-time, punishing Portugal’s loose defending during a rare Nigerian attack near the end of the first period.
Ronaldo then passed up more presentable openings after the interval, but Portugal finally regained control late on. With 15 minutes left, Francisco Conceicao cut inside from the right and drove a low shot into the bottom-left corner, easing pressure on the Al-Nassr forward and sealing the victory.
Portugal’s opening match at the World Cup will be against DR Congo on 17 June, in Group K. That fixture in North America will set the tone for a campaign where Martinez must balance attacking talent, such as Ronaldo, Neto and Conceicao, with discipline and control.
With just one day to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, here are the latest Opta supercomputer projections. pic.twitter.com/ZFkssN0L5lOpta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 10, 2026
Diogo Dalot echoed Neto’s optimism about Portugal’s prospects at the World Cup, while also pointing out that performance levels still have room to grow. Dalot said: "We're going in with confidence. Arriving at the World Cup with two positive results was what we wanted, but it's not the most important thing, because we have things to work on and improve. "
Dalot stressed the role of supporters during the preparation phase and ahead of the World Cup journey. Dalot added: "We're happy, confident. We felt the support of the public, which was something we needed, and we're going to take the country's flag to the USA to win the World Cup. "
Portugal now shift focus from friendlies to tournament football, carrying two wins, strong public backing and favourable statistical projections into North America, yet also recognising that missed chances against Nigeria show there is still work to do before facing DR Congo and the rest of Group K.
