Advertisement

‘This is Nigeria’: Super Eagles’ victory sends Twitter into frenzy

Nigeria defeated Iceland 2-0 at the Volgograd Arena on Friday to keep their chances of progressing from Group D alive.

Ahmed Musa’s efforts in the 49th and 75th minutes gave the three-time African champions their first win in Russia after losing their first group fixture to Croatia.

Ahmed Musa celebrates. Pic: Getty
Ahmed Musa celebrates. Pic: Getty

The win ensured Nigeria’s qualification to the knockout round goes down to the wire – when they play Argentina on Tuesday. However, football enthusiasts are thrilled by the performances of Gernot Rohr’s men.

Why Nigeria’s win is good for Argentina

The final few minutes of Argentina’s calamitous loss to Croatia felt like a funeral. They felt like the end of an era. They felt like an end for Lionel Messi. The disaster reportedly provoked an attempted mutiny. It left an entire nation depressed.

And yet heading into its final game in Group D, Argentina’s 2018 World Cup remains almost entirely in its own hands.

The Argentines got the pivotal result they needed in Group D’s other Matchday 2 game roughly 21 hours after their own debacle. Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0 on two wonderful second-half goals from Ahmed Musa.

Those goals, coupled with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s late penalty miss for Iceland, leave Nigeria in the driver’s seat for the Group D runner-up spot behind Croatia. But Argentina, most importantly, now knows a win over Nigeria on Tuesday will very likely take it through to the knockout rounds, even after Thursday’s heartbreak.

Argentina scenarios

Argentina’s loss to Croatia put it in a hole. But plenty of teams have advanced after taking one point from their opening two games. The Argentines are still within touching distance heading into their final group game.

Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa celebrates one of his two goals against Iceland at the 2018 World Cup. (AP)
Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa celebrates one of his two goals against Iceland at the 2018 World Cup. (AP)

They’ll play Nigeria while Iceland and Croatia clash in simultaneous games on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET. Here’s what the Group D table looks like heading into those games:

Group D table

1. Croatia — 6 (+5)
2. Nigeria — 3 (0)
3. Iceland — 1 (-2)
4. Argentina — 1 (-3)

So the scenarios for Argentina are relatively simple. It must beat Nigeria. If it does, a loss or draw for Iceland against Croatia will send the Argentines through.

If Iceland beats Croatia, Group D’s runner-up spot would be decided by tiebreakers. The first is goal differential. So Argentina’s margin of victory on Tuesday would have to be at least one goal greater than Iceland’s. If goal differential is level, the second tiebreaker is goals scored.

The third tiebreak would be discipline – yellow and red card counts.

With Henry Bushnell – Yahoo Sports