News and reaction
Let’s leave it here. It’s been another extraordinary evening. The quality of football might not be that high, but you can’t complain about the drama. We were treated to another late show tonight, this time from Argentina, who snuck into the second round when Marcos Rojo broke Nigerian hearts. They’ll play France on Saturday, while Croatia will play Denmark on Sunday. Thanks for emailing and reading. I’ve been very biased. Bye.
What will Maradona have planned if Argentina make it to the final? Will he insist that he plays?
Nobody has explained why Javier Mascherano was allowed to play the entire second half looking like he’d gone 12 rounds with Anthony Joshua. Aren’t players supposed to get help when their face is covered in blood?
I still find it hard to see Argentina going much further. They are an extremely dysfunctional team and have weaknesses in so many areas. They were badly exposed against Croatia’s midfield and it’s asking a lot of Messi to inspire them in every game. Yet they have a bit of momentum now and they’ll have a chance against France, who are yet to convince. Can you trust France? On paper they should have far too much for this Argentina side, but they are so lethargic under Didier Deschamps. All that talent up front and they’ve scored three in three games. They could be in trouble if Messi turns up again.
“Why wasn’t that handball given a penalty?” Joy Muthipeedika asks.
It wasn’t intentional. Therefore it was not handball.
“I hope you realize, Jacob, that you have provided a biased narration,” Eduardo Rios says. “You know in what direction. This game, after all, was not very different from Germany vs. Sweden. Argentina dominated possession and quality of play. All players worked their hearts out. Nigeria scored from a penalty. The last gasp goal by Germany was heroic. You make it sound like the near-last gasp goal by Argentina was some sort of fluke. Please reread and reconsider. To the point: the chronicle of Uruguay’s win yesterday was titled “Uruguay beats 10-man Russia”. Funny…”
I’m a racist now.
Nigeria’s exit means Senegal are the last African team with a chance of reaching the second round. What we’ve seen in the past few days is how much history matters in the decisive moments. Just as Germany found the answer against Sweden, Nigeria were unable to resist their bogey team here. Five times they’ve met Argentina in the group stage of the World Cup; five times they’ve lost by the odd goal. Galling.
Croatia won Group D and will play Denmark on Sunday evening. Argentina will play France, who won Group C, on Saturday afternoon. That should be a cracker, even if both sides are extremely flawed. My bet is we’re going to read a lot of Pogba and Messi pieces in the next few days.
To be brutally honest, Nigeria blew it. They were overwhelmed in the first half, Ighalo had two good chances to win it in the second half and they weren’t under a lot of pressure from Argentina before Rojo’s winner. Because they’re underdogs, people will patronise Nigeria, which doesn’t really do them any favours.
In the BBC studio Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand both think that Nigeria should have had a penalty when Rojo headed the ball on to his arm. Gary Lineker reads them the laws of the game. “Never a penalty, not a chance,” Pablo Zabaleta says.
Diego 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/5bR1I0SbTY
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) June 26, 2018
Yes Diego, @dele_official says ‘hi’ pic.twitter.com/s3zLwcGDMV
— Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) June 26, 2018
“Only 4 minutes added time after 2 VAR reviews, 2 goals and 6 subs in this half is a crime against football,” Brad McMillan says.
Imagine if anyone had spotted Mascherano’s bloody face.
In all the madness I managed to miss Diego Maradona celebrating Marcos Rojo’s goal by flipping the double bird at fans below him. What a character. He’s becoming quite tiresome, isn’t he?
Argentina’s players meet in a huddle. My, they’ve got away with one tonight. Croatia’s 2-1 win over Iceland in the other game means that Argentina will play France in the round of 16 on Saturday afternoon.
Here’s a match report.
Full-time: Nigeria 1-2 Argentina
Peep! Peep! Peep! Argentina have somehow reached the second round of the World Cup thanks to a winning goal from Marcos Rojo! Nigeria are devastated! The entire Argentina bench race on to the bench! Diego Maradona is ... happy.
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90 min+5: Armani, the debutant, runs out to beat Mikel to a loose ball in the Argentina area! That should be it!
90 min+4: Mascherano’s face is still covered in blood. Absurd. Messi is booked for timewasting. This is utter mayhem.
90 min+2: Messi almost breaks through, only for Idowu to challenge him. Messi hares after the wing-back and tackles him down by the corner flag. Alex Iwobi replaces Omeruo. Nwankwo is also on for Musa.
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90 min+1: Mikel is booked for ... something. This is mad. There will be four minutes of added time. Meanwhile it’s Croatia 2-1 Iceland. It’s all down to Nigeria now. Can they find an equaliser? Or are they going to slump to their fifth World Cup defeat to Argentina?
89 min: Rojo scored the winner when Argentina beat Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup. That one wasn’t quite as significant.
88 min: The noise when that went in was extraordinary. St Petersburg feels like Buenos Aires now. But this isn’t over yet. A Nigeria goal changes everything. So does an Iceland goal. What drama!
Mercado pops up on the right and clips a cross into the middle. Who’s there?
Lionel Messi
Marcos Rojo! He’s chased forward in desperation and he volleys a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner! Argentina go wild! Diego Maradona goes wild! Argentina are going into the second round - unless Iceland score again against Croatia!
GOAL!!! Nigeria 1-2 Argentina (Rojo, 86 min)
Argentina have their Toni Kroos moment!
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85 min: Banega launches another pass over the top to Meza, who takes it on his chest before crumpling to the floor. It was a fine challenge from Moses, though. The blood-stained Mascherano screams at the referee, who isn’t going to give a penalty.
84 min: Argentina are losing their rag. Banega, on a booking, gives away a free-kick with a poor challenge. Etebo curls it over the wall and into the side netting. Argentina are there for the taking now. They look clueless - they look like a team without a plan.
83 min: Nigeria probe down the left. They work the ball into the area and Ighalo takes advantage of shabby defending, powering past a weak challenge and moving towards Armani. He has Mikel in the middle, but Ighalo tries to stroke it into the far corner, only for Armani to save with his feet!
81 min: I’m not sure what’s more unbelievable: Higuain’s miss or the fact nobody’s spotted the BLOOD POURING DOWN MASCHERANO’S FACE.
80 min: Sergio Aguero replaces Tagliafico. How Argentina could do with one of Aguero’s late shows. They’re dominant at the moment. They attack down the left. Meza arrives on the overlap and pulls the ball into the middle. Higuain chokes and fires miles over the bar from 12 yards out! What a dire miss! Messi looks anguished.
79 min: Meza can’t control the ball in the Nigeria area. The chance disappears. Argentina attack again. Messi prods a pass to Tagliafico, who lashes a shot out for a throw.
78 min: It’s Croatia 1-1 Iceland in the other game in Group D! Gylfi Sigurdsson has equalised from the spot. If Argentina score and Iceland score, Iceland will go through.
77 min: After a long delay Cuneyt Cakir runs to the side of the pitch to check the monitor. He’s stuck to his decision: no penalty. It’s the right one - Rojo headed the ball on to his arm. It was rubbish defending but it wasn’t handball.
75 min: Pavon’s persistence works the ball to Mercado, whose cross is headed behind for a corner on the right. It leads to nothing. Nigeria break and Musa scoots down the left. His cross is defkected into the air. Rojo heads the ball on to his arm and it drops to Ighalo, who volleys wide. Nigeria want a penalty for handball! It’s gone to VAR. “Argentina’s substitutions are criminal,” Zafar Sobhan says. “No Aguero? No Dybala?”
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73 min: Meza runs down the left. He keeps running. Keeps running. Then he kicks the ball behind for a goal-kick. Argentina are starting to look very bad. It’s down to Messi to save them, isn’t it?
72 min: Maxi Meza replaces Di Maria, who played like Louis van Gaal was on the touchline.
71 min: Musa produces a lovely piece of skill to beat Mercado on the left. He plays a pass inside to Igahlo, whose dummy sets up Ndidi for a shot that zips just over from 20 yards.
70 min: Di Maria is having a nightmare at the moment. He grimaces after sending another pass out for a throw with his back to goal. Higuain, meanwhile, isn’t involved.
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69 min: Argentina haven’t created a chance since Nigeria’s goal. They are short of ideas.
68 min: I’m not sure why Mascherano hasn’t received medical attention. That gash on his cheek is enormous!
67 min: Mascherano, who’s had a difficult evening, has a massive cut on his face.
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66 min: Di Maria lets a pass run out of play, much to the annoyance of the Argentina fans. It’s not quite worked for him so far. “Mascherano needs to take himself off,” Ruth Purdue says.
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64 min: Messi just took a free-kick while he was on the floor. This is a mess now. Banega’s booked for a late tackle on Ndidi.
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62 min: Pavon’s first contribution is to fly down the right and slither a cross into the middle. Balogun turns it over the bar for a corner.
61 min: My question has been answered: Cristian Pavon replaces Enzo Perez.
60 min: Here, what’s going to happen when Argentina need to make a substitution? Will it be Sampaoli’s call? Will Aguero make it on?
59 min: But wait, here come Nigeria, with the electric Musa springing down the left. He stands up Mascherano and beats the veteran with ease. He can’t find Ighalo with his cutback, though.
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58 min: With Iceland losing to Croatia, at the moment this is a straight shootout between Argentina and Nigeria. Argentina are starting to see more of the ball, with Nigeria falling back a bit.
56 min: The Argentina fans aren’t giving up. They’ve raised the volume in an effort to get their team to respond to the setback of Nigeria’s equaliser. What Argentina really need, though, is Messi on the ball.
55 min: “Who would you have in that France team over England in 2006?” Nick Smith says. “Pogba over Lampard?”
Mbappe, Lloris, Varane, Kante, Griezmann...
54 min: Argentina deal with Etebo’s corner this time. But they didn’t cope with the previous one.
53 min: Croatia are 1-0 up against Iceland, which is good news for Argentina. They’re rocking, though. Ighalo breaks into the area from the left and has to be stopped by a thunderous challenge from Rojo. Another Nigeria corner.
52 min: That penalty came from the crazy lack of communication that led to the Nigeria corner. It was a long throw from Nigeria and three Argentina players all went for the ball. What a farce. They’ve handed Nigeria the upper hand. It will be fascinating to see what this does to Argentina’s approach.
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GOAL! Nigeria 1-1 Argentina (Moses pen, 51 min)
This is so cool! Moses casually strolls up to the ball, waits for Armani to move to the right and then rolls the ball to the other side! Nigeria level and, as it stands, are going to finish second!
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50 min: Victor Moses will take the penalty. But there’s a long delay while Cuneyt Cakir sorts out some pushing and shoving on the edge of the area. Ighalo and Rojo were at it. It all blows over.
PENALTY TO NIGERIA!
49 min: Etebo’s corner from the left is headed away but Mascherano’s penalised for holding Balogun! Mascherano’s booked. There’s a quick VAR check, but the decision stands. Argentina have imploded!
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48 min: Three Argentina players go for the same ball at the near post and contrive to concede a corner on the left.
47 min: Remember, it isn’t over until VAR’s had its say.
46 min: Argentina get the second half underway.
Argentina manager Lionel Messi has a few words his team-mates in the tunnel before they return to the pitch. Nigeria are replacing Kelechi Iheanacho with Odion Ighalo.
In the other game in Group D it’s Iceland 0-0 Croatia Reserves. Iceland have had the better chances and will move above Argentina if they score. This is so delicately poised. If Iceland score one, Argentina will need another goal.
Half-time: Nigeria 0-1 Argentina
Peep! Peep! The first half draws to a close with Argentina in front thanks to - you guessed it - a moment of magic from Lionel Messi, the man who apparently doesn’t care about his country. As it stands Argentina are finishing second. But Nigeria are surely going to have something to say about that in the second half!
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45 min+1: Musa spins away from Mercado, who cynically brings him down and somehow escapes without a booking.
45 min: There will be two added minutes.
44 min: Musa lifts a cross into the middle from the left. The ball takes a deflection and loops into the air, sparking Iheanacho’s interest. Rojo Nigel De Jongs the ball away - isn’t that dangerous play given that the ball was head height? - and then he inadvertently catches Iheanacho’s head with his leg. That could easily have been a penalty for Nigeria.
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42 min: Etebo’s shot goes out for a throw, which sums up Nigeria’s performance since Messi’s goal.
41 min: Iheanacho knocks a pass down the right. Musa races past Otamendi, but Armani sprints out of the area to boot the ball out for a throw.
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40 min: “Is this MBM actually being written by Messi’s dad?” says
Cristiano Ronaldo
Peter Moore.
39 min: Higuain lays the ball off to Messi, who sprays it out to Di Maria on the left. Moses smothers the winger’s shot.
38 min: Finger on the pulse.
Argentina stands on the brink of disaster at the #WorldCup. More alarming than its immediate fate is Lionel Messi’s ineffectiveness. #ARG https://t.co/M57je1JRtz pic.twitter.com/2iExtTzFza
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 26, 2018
37 min: Messi’s goal was a lesson for Neymar. Every touch was brilliant, but it was all done at maximum efficiency. He wasn’t showing off for the sake of it, he was taking the clearest route to goal. Which isn’t the same as Neymar’s over-indulgence.
35 min: On second viewing, that was a splendid save from Uzoho, who got the lightest of touches on Messi’s free-kick to tip it on to the post.
34 min: The free-kick’s a few yards to the left of the D. It wouldn’t normally be made for a left-footer. But let’s face it, Banega isn’t shoving Messi aside. Behave. There’s a thrill of anticipation as Messi trots up to the ball. He lifts it delicately over the wall. The ball curls beautifully to Uzoho’s left - but it hits the post, bounces out and Musa clears!
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31 min: Banega, who has such terrific technique, plays a stunning pass through to Di Maria. Nigeria’s defence is so high. Di Maria races through on goal and Balogun clips his heels just outside the area! Di Maria was on his left foot and he was about to shoot, but Balogun gets away with a booking, presumably because Omeruo was in the vicinity. His sacrifice might be for nothing, though, because Messi’s standing over a free-kick 20 yards from goal.
29 min: Uzoho is back on his feet. That was a huge save from the Nigerian teenager. You fear for his team, though, because Messi is in the zone.
27 min: Messi dashes inside from the right and slides a trademark pass down the channel to Higuain, who can’t lift the ball over the onrushing Uzoho. The Nigeria goalkeeper, who was very assertive there, stays down. Higuain collided with him.
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26 min: “Banega’s pass “ball of the tournament”?” John Johnson says. “Maybe. But Messi took it on the turn with his knee, nudged it again with his left foot before it hit the ground, at full pelt without breaking stride, and then lashed it across the keeper with his weaker foot. Just a hell of a goal.”
My colleague Rob Smyth says it reminded him of Bergkamp v Argentina in 1998. It obviously wasn’t as difficult as that, but each touch from Messi was class.
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24 min: Higuain charges down a Balogun clearance. All the intensity and momentum belongs to Argentina now. Nigeria lack fluidity. They could do with an extended spell of possession to calm themselves and make Argentina nervous.
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22 min: Uzoho boots a clearance out of play. Nigeria look rattled. “Is it me or did Maradona look like he’s taking part in a satanic ritual during that celebration?” Benjamin Park says.
19 min: Moses runs down the right and wins a corner off Tagliafico. Iheanacho’s delivery amounts to nothing. “Well done Messi, great strike under pressure and whatnot, but that pass from Banagea was utterly sublime,” Greg Phillip says. “Just perfect. Ball of the tournament so far.”
18 min: Di Maria’s free-kick is too high. Nigeria need to gather their thoughts quickly.
17 min: Di Maria wins a free-kick on the left. He’ll take it. “Messi! Messi! Messi!” the Argentinian fans chant. To think some doubt his commitment to the cause.
Ever Banagea picks up possession on the halfway line, looks up and looks for Lionel Messi. There he is, peeling away from Omeruo on the right of the Nigeria area. Banega’s raking pass is perfect. The ball drops on to Messi’s thigh. He controls with his thigh, then cushions it forward with his boot and Omeruo isn’t close enough to him, allowing the little genius to fire a rising right-footed shot across Uzoho! Captain, leader, legend. That is a superb goal from the best player in the world, all three touches oozing class, and as it stands Argentina are going through to the second round.
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GOAL! Nigeria 0-1 Argentina (Messi, 14 min)
Why did you doubt him?
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13 min: Mascherano plays a dreadful pass straight to Iheanacho, who has acres of space to attack inside Argentina’s half! Iheanacho’s indecisive, though, and Mascherano races back to atone for his error with a perfect challenge. That was a waste. But another hint of Argentina’s frailties.
12 min: There’s plenty of effort from Argentina, but there’s no real sense that they know what they’re doing. Nigeria don’t look overly concerned at the moment.
10 min: There are signs that Messi’s feeling alert. He goes on another run, this time down the left, and forces his way past a couple of challenges and into the Nigeria area. He tries to find Higuain in the middle, but his cross is cut out.
9 min: Nigeria win the ball on the edge of the area after Argentina fail to deal with a long throw. Musa wriggles away from Mascherano, but he slips as he shoots and sends a harmless shot over.
8 min: Banega slips a clever pass through to Tagliafico, who charges into the area, only for pressure from Moses to put him off as he shoots high and wide. “You say Nigeria kick off from left to right, but it could also be right to left, depending on where you are in the stadium,” Simon McMahon says. “I mean, could your pro Argentinian bias be any more obvious?”
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7 min: Etebo surges through the middle, through the Argentina midfield, and advances to the edge of the area. Rojo blocks his shot. Argentina break and Messi gets involved for the first time, scampering inside from the right, before winning a free-kick when Etebo brings him down.
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4 min: Mercado skips up the right and skews a pass out of play. Hmm. This has the shambolic potential. “Rather than being France from 2010 I think Argentina are this world cup’s England from almost every tournament for the past 20 years,” David Wall says. “Too focused on a star player(s) to the detriment of any coherent team or plan (other than giving it to said star player(s)), and with the result that they stink the place out with pretty awful football. It gets to a point where you’re hoping they are eliminated so you can just enjoy the rest of the football. Hopefully Argentinians will experience that relief in a couple of hours time. Come on the super eagles.”
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2 min: Both sides look nervous. Passes are going astray. There isn’t much composure yet. Armani gets an early touch after a long pass runs through to him.
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Peep! Nigeria kick off from left to right and immediately launch the ball long. Out it goes for a throw to Argentina, who are in their blue and white stripes. Nigeria are in dark green. The atmosphere is electric.
We’ve had the anthems. You’ll be pleased to hear Leo Messi didn’t seem to be experiencing an existential crisis this time. Unless you’re Nigerian, that is. Or Brazilian. “Was Sampaoli even the right man for Argentina from the start?” Matt Henry says. “His style of play doesn’t seem to suit this group of players, and he doesn’t have the guts to make the kind of dramatic changes needed to implement his style of play.”
Here come the teams! Time for Argentina to show some huevos. Time for Nigeria to make some history of their own. Something has to give. First, though, the anthems.
The average age of Argentina’s starting line-up is 30 years and 189 days. That doesn’t say much for their youth system, does it? “I favour Nigeria drawing first blood and treating us to a scintillating half hour on top - then a daft mistake letting Argentina back in to sparkle for a while,” Terna Gyuse says. “What I can’t guess at is if either of these teams can hold it together to finish this game strongly. Can both sides blow it? Leading or trailing, I feel like the pressure will break them both.
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“There is just no outcome here that doesn’t make me happy!” Lee Madden chirps. “Argentina go through - the worlds best player rides again and we get an Argentina vs France last 16. Nigeria go through - we get an exciting and dynamic African team qualifying for the last 16! Iceland go through - we’ll, the fairytale continues. Football is, literally, the winner no matter what. “
Exclusive footage from the mutinous Argentina camp!
The situation in Group D: Croatia have qualified with six points from two games, Nigeria are second with three points and a goal difference of 0, Iceland are third with one point and a goal difference of -2 and Argentina are bottom with one point and a goal difference of -3. Argentina will expect to qualify with a win - but one concern for both them and Nigeria is that Croatia have rested nine players against Iceland.
“I still remember a couple years back when someone emailed you during a Liverpool game and with absolutely no (reasonable) provocation called you ‘a biased r****d’,” JR in Illinois says. “That was the best.”
Brings a tear to the eye.
“If France are England 2006 with more talent, does that make Argentina France 2010 without the bus?” Daniel Stauss says. “I thought maybe Spain might self-destruct after firing Lopetegui, but I almost want Argentina to lose today so we can really see the knives come out.”
This is an absolutely fascinating situation, isn’t it? Despite denials from Javier Mascherano, reports that the players are no longer listening to Jorge Sampaoli and tried to get him sacked after the Croatia game refuse to go away. Yet Sampaoli and his tattoos will be on the touchline tonight and Argentina can afford nothing less than a show of togetherness here. They need to play for a manager they don’t respect. A manager with no control over the camp. Eh?
An email! “Your past MBMs have shown bias, so nothing new,” tinfoil enthusiast Gloria Greppi moans.
Pre-match reading
I know I’m supposed to be impartial. But I’m actually a bias journo who wants Argentina to go through, enabling Messi to destroy Didier Deschamps in the second round. France are England 2006 with more talent, aren’t they?
This is a pleasant pre-match read. Unless you’re Argentinian. What a game, though. That Romanian side really was something else - and I suppose Argentina weren’t bad either. They were a fair bit better than the current motley crew, even though the Messi of the day was, er, otherwise engaged.
Permutations! Get yer permutations here!
Nigeria stick with the 3-5-2 formation that worked to such great effect in the 2-0 win over Iceland. There’s no need to change something that isn’t broken.
If only the same could be said of Argentina, who have made sweeping changes to the side that collapsed against Croatia. How much of that is down to Jorge Sampaoli? Diddly squat if you believe reports in the Argentinian media claiming that the manager no longer picks the team. They’ve ditched the 3-5-2 in favour of a 4-4-2 and have made changes to the starting 11, with Franco Armani, Marcos Rojo, Ever Banega, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain replacing Willy Caballero, Eduardo Salvio, Maximiliano Meza, Marcos Acuna and Sergio Aguero. Leo Messi joins Higuain up front. The goalkeeper, Armani, is making his first start for Argentina. It’s the last throw of the dice. Will it work?
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Team news
Nigeria: Uzoho; Omeruo, Balogun, Ekong; Moses, Etebo, Ndidi, Mikel, Idowu; Musa, Iheanacho.
Argentina: Armani; Mercado, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico; Perez, Mascherano, Banega, Di Maria; Messi, Higuaín.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey).
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Preamble
Hello. Before we begin, please join me in a moment of silence. It’s the done thing when Argentina play these days – although there’s a chance that the state of mourning after last Thursday’s capitulation to Croatia was a tad premature. They might be in a state of total disarray, with word spreading that the players have completely ostracised Jorge Sampaoli and will pick the team themselves, but they could still squeeze into the second round of the 2018 World Cup.
All Argentina are likely to need is a victory over Nigeria and, if history’s a reliable guide, that shouldn’t be asking too much. These two know each other well. Four times they’ve met in the group stage of the World Cup; four times Argentina have triumphed by the odd goal. Nigeria are contesting their sixth World Cup and it was almost inevitable that they would be drawn with their bogey team. It happened in 1994, it happened in 2002, it happened in 2010, it happened in 2014 and it’s happened again in Russia. If Argentina can maintain their supremacy over the Super Eagles, the cracks will be papered over, assuming Iceland don’t rack up a big win over Croatia in Group D’s other encounter (you can read more on the permutations here).
But Nigeria, who are likely to need no more than a point to finish second, believe the balance of power is finally going to swing their way. Gernot Rohr’s sprightly side were poor in their opener against Croatia, but they were resurgent in their second game against Iceland, with Ahmed Musa scoring two fine goals, and they’ll take confidence from the memory of beating Argentina 4-2 in a friendly in Krasnodar last November.
Admittedly Argentina were without Lionel Messi that day - but they’ve more or less been without Lionel Messi throughout this tournament. The world’s best player had a penalty saved against Iceland. He looked fed up during the anthems before the Croatia game and he wept after a 3-0 defeat that shone an unflattering light on Argentina’s dysfunction. Argentina need him now more than ever, even more than they needed him when he dragged them to this tournament with a hat-trick against Ecuador, but there can be no guarantees Messi has it within himself to save his country from a their first group-stage exit since 2002. These are the moments when you remember that he really is only human. And it isn’t easy to stay motivated when your goalkeeper’s Willy Caballero, your manager has some very sophisticated tattoos and your country’s talent supply has dried up because of ineptitude at the top.
Then again, some humans are a bit better at football than others. Similar obituaries were being prepared on Saturday night, when Germany were on the brink of a humiliating early exit. Toni Kroos had other ideas, though, and you wouldn’t put it past Messi to rise from his torpor here. All bets are off if he wakes up. At the moment, though, the smart money’s on another sombre display in Argentinian television studios.
Kick-off: 7pm BST, 9pm in St Petersburg.
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