It was looking like a first home league defeat for Forest since September 2009 after Nwankwo Kanu gave Portsmouth a lead they held until the 87th minute.
Thereafter, only Portsmouth looked like scoring and, with substitute Nwankwo Kanu pulling the strings and Glen Johnson bombing forward down the right, only poor finishing kept Sunderland in the game.
With a population of around 140 million and a reputation for producing stars such as Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and Chelsea's John Obi Mikel, the outstanding qualities of Nigerian football are beyond question.