Nigeria 2-0 Iceland
Iceland came to Volgograd with a mission and a thunder-clapping crowd to egg them on. Like their Viking ancestors, they pillaged a struggling Argentina, removing any hopes of having an easy route to the World Cup. From the Land of Ice and Fire, they came to Volgograd Arena, looking to secure their first World Cup 2018 in what would be an inspiring underdog story.
They were slight favourites to win after pulling off such a momentous result against the world’s best. The pundits were all in agreement, and several of our SBOBET football experts also believed that these modern-day football Vikings would be taking the three points.
However, Nigeria and Ahmed Musa had other plans.
The Super Eagles, a team that struggled to get things together against Croatia in their first game, suddenly found themselves on Musa’s back and pulled off a very impressive victory against a tough Iceland team that has recently developed a reputation for having a sturdy defence and playing it coolly.
This result just opened the game for the remaining three teams of Group D. Whoever wins their final group stage match will join Croatia into the knockout stages. This game is something a certain chap named Lionel Messi will definitely look to capitalise on.
Highlights of the game
Fans who watched the game could basically separate the game into two segments. One segment saw the Strakarnir okkar dominate and play some very impressive football. The other segment was Nigeria’s dominant play as they finally broke through the tough Icelandic defence and come away with the win.
Everton man Gylfi Sigurdsson made his presence known among the Nigerians in the third minute when he fired a very powerful free-kick to the upper-left corner. Fortunately, a brilliant save from young Deportivo La Coruña keeper Francis Uzoho stopped Iceland from getting a fantastic goal early in the contest.
The 19-year-old soon saw himself busy throughout the first half as Iceland kept on threatening to score multiple times in the half. Sigurdsson showed off his technical skills as he made dribbles and passes that constantly threatened the Nigerian defence. The Everton midfielder is doing everything he can to get the team on the scoreboard.
However, it wasn’t like Nigeria just allowed a European team to have their way with them for consecutive games. Gernot Rhor made brilliant adjustments that saw Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried Ndidi plenty of opportunities up front.
However, it wasn’t until the second half that the fans would see a most fantastic goal.
Nigeria threw the ball in during the 49th minute of the match. A scramble for the ball eventually saw the ball on the feet of Viktor Moses. The Chelsea midfielder then brought the ball up to the right win and made a cross to Musa. The former Leicester attacker then caught the ball mid-air and volleyed it to the goal.
It was a most spectacular goal that broke the deadlock and put Nigeria in a more secure scenario, allowing many of the Nigerian supporters in the stands to break out in cheers. Iceland then knew that scoring a goal would become more difficult now.
Musa added more pressure to Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men when he scored another screamer of a goal. Iceland’s backline was way up as they looked to equalise. Kenneth Omeruo then made a beautiful outlet pass to the left, and Musa gladly picked up the ball. He easily dashed past the blue shirts, tricked Iceland hero and filmmaker Hannes Halldorsson to make a sweeping save, and coolly smashed the ball into an empty net.
Iceland had a shot at getting back into the game in the 80th minute when Tyronne Ebuehi made a careless tackle in the penalty box. “Ice Man” Gylfi took two steps for the spot kick. Uzoho made a wrong guess and went the other way of the strike.
Sigurdsson skied the ball, and thousands of Icelandic hearts were shattered.
The miss definitely took the air out of Iceland’s lungs as the Super Eagles kept on with their strong defence and end the game with a convincing 2-0 victory.
Key statistics
Iceland are definitely devastated that they failed to keep up and force another wonder draw against Nigeria. With this result, they are now on a six-game winless streak. The last time they won was in January when they beat Malaysia to a 4-1 win away from home.
This victory puts Nigeria in many World Cup 2018 highlights as they now edge closer to repeating their run during the 2014 World Cup. They also showed their quality in this game: they had more time with the ball and took more shot attempts than their European opponents.
The Nigerians who answered the call of former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde will be thrilled to know that they now only need a single point in order to make it through to the knockout stages.
What’s next?
While they only need one more point to advance, Nigeria’s next opponents will be Argentina. Fortunately, the World Cup 2018 betting odds won’t be so friendly to the Albiceleste after a string of disappointing results. However, the Super Eagles should know better than to underestimate this uber-talented team.
Meanwhile, Iceland have another tough task against Croatia. Luka Modric will be a tough assignment for the Icelandic defence, but this may help the Vikings get back into their comfort zone and pull off another shocker.
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