The Nigerian Professional Football League All-Star team is currently part of the Ramon de Carranza tournament in Spain.
The NPFL and LaLiga had earlier signed a partnership agreement and this facilitated the involvement of Nigeria in the preseason clash.
Their first match of the tournament was against Valencia CF at the Luis Suñer Picó Stadium, Alzira on Wednesday.
The Nigerians gave a good account of themselves but quickly went behind in the eighth minute after Alvaro Medran directed a header in from a Luis Gaya cross.
Despite the early domination of the Spanish team, the NPFL team grew into the match and held their own, threatening Valencia on the break.
Valencia wasted chances to consolidate their lead after Medran and Paco Alcacer missed opportunities to score but flashed their efforts wide.
Eventually, the NPFL All-star team mustered an equaliser from a corner kick as Joseph Osadiaye capitalised on a goalkeeping error to poke the ball home. The goal ensured both teams went into the break tied.
After the break, Valencia continued to enjoy much of the possession but weren’t able to convert chances. As the match threatened to fizzle into a draw, Rodrigo Moreno got the winner for the La Liga team in the 83rd minute as he controlled a long ball from Medran and rounded Ezenwa to put Valencia back up.
The NPFL All-Star were lucky not to concede a third goal and will face Malaga CF on Friday.
