Friendly: Jordan draw with Nigeria, Japan upends England at Wembley

The Nigerians were held by Jordan (2-2), Tuesday evening in Antalya, Turkey, at the end of an animated friendly match. The Jordanians opened the scoring thanks to Musa Al-Taamari in the 17th minute. Nigeria thought to equalize in the wake, but Raphael Onyedika’s goal was rightly ruled out for offside. The Super Eagles nevertheless reacted through Moses Simon, opportunistic in the box after a Lookman attempt was saved. Just before half-time, Emmanuel Fernandez allowed Nigeria to move in front, finishing a cross from Bright Osayi-Samuel.

After the break, the Nigerians dominated but could not make the breakthrough. A further blow came with the injury-enforced withdrawal of goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, replaced by Adebayo Adeleye. Jordan eventually equalized late in the match thanks to Mohammad Al-Daoud. Reduced to ten after the sending-off of Alex Iwobi, the Super Eagles had to settle for a draw.

In the other notable match of the evening, Japan made the upset by beating England 1-0 on the Wembley pitch. The only goal of the match was scored by Kaoru Mitoma in the first half. According to Opta, this is a historic victory: Japan becomes the first Asian nation to defeat England on home soil. Already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Japanese will play in Group F, where they will meet Sweden, Tunisia and the Netherlands.