England to play Nigeria in Wembley friendly as part of their 2018 World Cup preparations
England have lined up a Wembley friendly against Nigeria as part of their World Cup preparations.
The Super Eagles will be one of two opponents for England, the other likely to be against Latin American opposition, before they depart for Russia.
The Football Association wanted England to face African opposition ahead of their World Cup opener against Tunisia in Volgograd on 18 June.
They considered facing Ghana or Senegal, who they could face in the last-16 depending on their standings in the groups. But England have chosen Nigeria, with the popular following the Nigerian national team thought to have been a factor behind the decision.
England will make the announcement official once their second June friendly has been confirmed.
After playing the two friendlies, Gareth Southgate and his squad will fly to Russia and to their training base in Repino, a town just north of St Petersburg, towards the Finnish border. Then they will head to Volgograd to face Tunisia, Nizhny Novgorod for Panama and Kaliningrad to play Belgium on 28 June.
