With Osimhen away and Lookman excused, Terem Moffi has stepped up as Nigeria’s focal point. The Porto Primeira Liga champion has four goal contributions in his last three Super Eagles appearances — and he is just getting started.
There is a version of the Terem Moffi story that could have been told very differently. A striker who left Lorient for Nice in 2023 but never truly settled, who found first-team chances difficult and who drifted in and out of the Nigeria conversation. Then came January 2026, a loan move to Porto, a Primeira Liga title, and something clicking. Now, as Victor Osimhen navigates transfer uncertainty and Ademola Lookman takes a well-earned rest, Terem Moffi is the Terem Moffi Super Eagles fans always suspected was in there — and he is arriving at exactly the right moment.
Nigeria face Portugal in Leiria on Wednesday June 10 in their second June friendly, and Moffi heads into the match as the team’s most important attacking player. Here is why the 27-year-old striker has earned that status, and what it means for Nigeria’s build-up to the 2027 AFCON.
The loan move to FC Porto in January 2026 was the turning point. Porto’s system — demanding, tactically precise, and built on pressing and quick combination play — suited Moffi’s game far better than the chaos of the Nice attack. Working under a high-level coaching staff in the Primeira Liga, alongside Champions League-quality teammates, sharpened both his movement and his finishing.
By the end of the 2025-26 season, Porto were Primeira Liga champions, and Moffi had contributed meaningfully to that title run. The experience gave him something more valuable than goals: confidence. A confidence that was obvious from the moment he pulled on the Super Eagles shirt for the Unity Cup in May 2026.
The statistics tell the story. In the Unity Cup in May 2026, Moffi scored against Jamaica in the 3-0 win and set up a goal against Zimbabwe across Nigeria’s two group games. Then came Warsaw on June 3, where he opened the scoring against Poland in the 23rd minute — a composed finish after Moses Simon played him in at the near post. That is four goal contributions in three Nigeria appearances heading into the Portugal match.
For context, those numbers match the output Nigeria were hoping to get from their first-choice striker all along. The difference is that Moffi has produced them without the benefit of having Osimhen alongside him drawing defenders, without Lookman behind him creating in the number ten role, and without the safety net of being the established starter. He has earned every minute of those contributions.
There is one more reason why Moffi is particularly well-suited to Wednesday’s test. Having played a full season in the Primeira Liga, Moffi knows the Portuguese game from the inside. He has faced the defenders that Roberto Martinez will likely deploy. He understands the tempo of Portuguese club football and the way their national players move.
“I know how Portugal play,” Moffi said after the Poland match. “I know their players. That experience helps me and I can use it for the team.” It is a quiet confidence, not arrogance — and for a striker heading into a match against one of the top teams in the world, that composure is a genuine competitive edge. AllNigeriaSoccer reported his belief that his Porto experience could directly benefit the Super Eagles in Leiria.
For a long time, the Super Eagles’ striker conversation began and ended with Victor Osimhen. That will always be the case when Osimhen is fit and available — he is one of the best centre-forwards in the world. But the June 2026 camp has proved something important: Nigeria do not collapse when Osimhen is absent. Moffi has shown he is a genuine international-level striker capable of performing on European soil against European opposition.
Paul Onuachu adds depth — his 22 goals for Trabzonspor in 2025-26 and his penalty against Poland demonstrated he is still a reliable presence — but Moffi’s combination of technical quality, intelligence, and current form puts him ahead in the pecking order for this camp.
Coach Eric Chelle will face a pleasant dilemma whenever Osimhen returns: does Moffi keep his place, or does the team accommodate both? That is a good problem to have. For now, all eyes are on Leiria — and on whether Moffi can do what no Super Eagles striker has done in four years and score against Portugal.
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