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It all boils down to this for Lionel Messi and Argentina.
The superstar and his tormented squad still have a game to play to save their group and reach the knockout stage against Nigeria on Tuesday. Argentina would get a win in the round of 16 and a Croatian victory or match of Croatia against Iceland in their Group D simultaneous final, while Iceland could win if his goals totaled the breaking of equality.
But there is little that suggests that Argentina wins a win on the base of its game up here in Russia, while Nigeria has turned its head with its victory against Iceland. The doubling of Ahmed Musa did the trick, and the pace and pressure that Nigeria applied to Iceland could wreak havoc on the Argentines who appeared slow and disinterested in defense in two. matches. This was the case in November 2017, when Nigeria beat Argentina 4-2 Messi-less in friendly. On the stage of the World Cup, the history between the two sides belongs to Argentina, however. They have met at three of the last four World Cups, Argentina winning group matches in 2002, 2010 and 2014, all by margins of a goal.
Argentina, like all tournaments, has struggled to find an earlier pace. Stray passes and a lack of cohesive ownership prevailed, and Nigeria seemed the most dangerous of the two. The Super Eagles seemed to have a great opportunity in the break at the break, only for Nicolas Otamendi who offered a last tackle in the sixth minute.
The first opportunity for Argentina came from Nicolas Tagliafico in the eighth minute, when Ever Banega made it pass through the seam on the left side, only for him to put his luck right off the post left.
The action resumed at the other end a minute later, when Nigeria threatened to make a long throw-in. Musa's speculative push from outside the surface did not go unnoticed. did not miss the target, but it exceeded the goal of Franco Armani. The goalkeeper, replacing Willy Caballero after his mistakes against Croatia, got his first selection with Argentina that day.
Argentina finally got the game that she was looking for in the 14th minute. Messi received a perfect ball in Banega's back, removing it beautifully and finishing with his foot, finding the back of the net to give Argentina a 1-0 lead. Given the score at the time of the battle between Iceland and Croatia, this goal has temporarily placed Argentina in second place in the group.
In the 27th minute, Messi opened the scoring for Gonzalo Higuain with a perfect pass in the right margin, but Nigerian goalkeeper Francis Uzoho came out of the line heroically to stop the process.
Stay tuned here for live updates and highlights of goals and key games throughout the match (refresh for the most recent updates).
You can follow the updates of the other final Group D between Croatia and Iceland here.
Here are the queues for both teams:
Here are the alignments for both sides:
NIGERIA
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruña), Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United)
defenders: William Troost-Ekong (Bursasport), Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor), Tyrone Ebuehi (Teen Den Haag), Elderson Echiejile (Brugge Circle KSV), Bryan Idowu (Amkar Perm), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC), Leon Balogun (Brighton) , Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa)
Environments: Mikel John Obi (Tianjin Teda), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City), Oghenekaro Etebo (Las Palmas), John Ogu (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Joel Obi (Turin, Italy)
forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Kelechi Iheanacho (City of Leicester), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Simeon Nwankwo (Crotone)
Director: Gernot Rohr
ARGENTINA
TheGoalkeepers: Franco Armani (Plate River), Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Nahuel Guzman (Tigers)
defenders: Marcos Acuña (Sporting Lisbon), Cristian Ansaldi (Turin), Federico Fazio (Roma), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax)
Environments: Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Angel Di Maria (PSG), Giovani Lo Celso (PSG), Enzo Perez (River Plate), Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica)
Moving forward: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)
director: Jorge Sampaoli
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