Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has explained the need for his team to test themselves against top teams like Portugal.

The three-time African champions will take on World Cup-bound Portugal in a friendly next week Thursday at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon.

The Super Eagles have also faced countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Algeria since Peseiro took charge of the team.

The West Africans lost all three friendlies, but the Portuguese emphasized the need for his team to test themselves against the top sides in the world.

“Playing against my country, the best in the world, who can win the World Cup, is extraordinary,” Peseiro told TMW.

“But is also a great opportunity – when you want to build a national team with great ambitions, you have to do it against top teams.

“The way must be this – if you just want to win, you play against the small teams."

“But if I want to improve my team, I will go through the defeats to improve us going forward."

The Super Eagles are rebuilding after failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will start in Qatar in a couple of days

The team lost out to perennial rivals, the Black Stars of Ghana, in the playoff round.

Peseiro was announced as the head coach of the Super Eagles in May.