Either side of those goals, a Victor Moses penalty had given the Super Eagles some hope.
Argentina’s win coupled with Iceland’s 2-1 loss to Croatia ensured Jorge Sampaoli’s side progressed to the last-16.
Argentina will now face France in the round of 16.
La Albiceleste’s tortured spell in Russia saw them come into the Group D-showdown at Saint Petersburg Stadium needing victory to stand any hope of avoiding just a second-ever group-stage elimination.
Lionel Messi’s stupendous control of Ever Banega’s superb chipped pass and expert finish into the top corner in the 14th minute appeared to offer salvation.
But the Super Eagles started the stronger in the second half and drew level on 51 minutes when Victor Moses calmly stroked home a penalty after Javier Mascherano’s pull on Leon Balogun.
This result was enough, at that stage, to see them advance for the second successive edition.
Argentina toiled from this moment and didn’t register another attempt on goal until the 80th minute.
Then the unlikely figure of center-back Rojo stormed onto Gabriel Mercado’s cross and found the bottom corner in the 86th minute to spark scenes of unmitigated joy.
Argentina will now face France in the round of 16.
The Russia 2018 World Cup went a record 27 matches without a goalless draw last week following Eden Hazard’s penalty against Tunisia.
Games continued to flow without a 0-0 scoreline, until today.
Denmark and France played out the first 0-0 of the 2018 World Cup with both teams securing passage to the next round.
There were goals, though, in the other Group C match as Peru beat Australia 2-0.
Meanwhile, France and Denmark secure spots in the knockout stage, with ‘Les Bleus’ finishing top.
Didier Deschamps’ side will take on the runners-up from Group D which could be Argentina or Nigeria, while Denmark will most likely be paired with Croatia.
Tonight’s encounter is a Do or Die for Le Albiceleste as they face off against the Super Eagles in a clash that is must-win for both Nations in the highly competitive Group D.
It’s not been the best of times for the 2-time former champions who started off their World Cup campaign in a lacklustre draw against a much determined Iceland side in a match which saw their talisman Messi missing another penalty kick from the spot.
It is believed under-fire boss Jorge Sampaoli will still lead his team despite their disastrous start to the World Cup.
There have been numerous reports that despite Sampoli still being the manager – he has no role in selecting the final XI.
Meanwhile, Nigerian captain John Mikel Obi sustained a fractured hand during their 2-0 win over Iceland but head coach Gernot Rohr still thinks he could take to the field to face the South American team.
Predicted line-ups
Nigeria: Uzoho; Omeruo, Troost-Ekong, Balogun, Idowu; Mikel, Ndidi; Moses, Etudo, Musa; Iheanacho
Argentina: Armani; Salvio, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico; Mascherano, Perez; Di Maria, Messi, Dybala; Higuain
Prediction
Argentina 1-2 Nigeria
AJ and Wilder have looked on a collision course for quite some time and when Joshua beat Joseph Parker to win the WBO title in March it meant between him and the ‘Bronze Bomber’ they had all of the heavyweight divisions major titles.
That means a fight between the pair would be to decide the undisputed heavyweight king, a rarity in the sport.
Both sides have talked about a deal being done but that now seems dead in water, for the rest of the year, with Joshua being ordered by the WBA to defend that title against number one contender Alexander Povetkin.
The World Boxing Association had given AJ and Eddie Hearn an extra month to negotiate with Wilder but with that time up the Brits now only have 24 hours to come to terms with Povetkin.
In a statement WBA president, Gilberto Mendoza said, “Today the WBA requested an answer from Anthony Joshua’s team regarding his fight with the mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin.
“The WBA have allowed over a month extension to negotiations with Povetkin and also ongoing discussions with Deontay Wilder.
“It appears the Wilder team have not returned the contract for the fight and therefore we are requesting a date for the Joshua versus Povetkin fight with immediate effect.“
The fight with Povetkin puts paid to the Wilder fight for now, with the American no doubt likely to use this as further proof that Joshua is scared of him, but it opens the chances up for a summer fight next year.
We just hope that Wilder and Joshua isn’t one of those fights that for some reason never happens.
For now though the 2012 Olympic champion can’t look past Povetkin.
Source – WBA Via SportBible
Croatia leads the pack with six points with one game left to spare after defeating Nigeria (2 0) in the opening match fixture with an own goal from Nigerian midfielder Etebo and Luka Modric, who converted his effort from the spot.
They also went on to take all three points with three unreplied goals against World Cup favorites Argentina with goals from Croatia skipper Modric, Barcelona’s ace Rakitic, and Rebecca.
Nigeria, on the other hands who are second on the group, responded positively from a defeat to Croatia by defeating Iceland in their second group D fixture with Ahmed Musa inspiring Nigeria to a famous victory (2-0) with the former Leicester man finding the back of the net twice.
Iceland and Argentina who sit on third and fourth place respectively, with one point each after a draw (1 1) from their opening fixture with 5-time balon’ D’OR winner and La Albeiste Captain Messi failed to convert from the spot.
The last game from group D comes up on the 26th of June with qualifications into the round of 16 up for grab for the top two.
Croatia who currently sit at the top of the group with a game in hand are guaranteed of qualification into the next round not minding what happens in the last game of the round but are not yet guaranteed top spot.
The second spot for qualification is up for grabs for the remaining three teams with Nigeria having the upper hand with three points in the bag compares to Iceland and Argentina’s one point each.
However, Nigeria still have a big task to face before qualification as they face Argentina in their last group D fixture. A draw for Nigeria will see them finish with four points and will depend on Croatia who face Iceland to either win or draw their game.
A win against Argentina will cement Nigeria’s place in the round of 16 regardless of what happens in the other group fixture. A situation whereby Nigeria loses the game to Argentina will see them automatically out of the World Cup.
As it stands, Nigeria are in pole position to qualify in as much as they avoid a defeat to Argentina as Iceland need a miracle to beat table topper Croatia in the final group D fixture.
Nigeria faces Argentina while Croatia locks horns with Iceland in their last group game which will kick off at 7 pm Nigerian time.
Guest Writer – Alabi Nicholas
Croatia was a better team on papers and on the field that day, they were the better team in all ramifications.
It was a lucky day for Luka Modric and Co. as they faced a rather lackluster Nigerian with no cogent attacking intent compared to the super eagles that beat Argentina four goals to two and drew with England one goal apiece at Wembley en route to the world cup.
Although there were talks, suggestions and different opinion piece about the super eagles’ chances of making it out of that group when the draw was made.
The group was perceived to be a tricky one with a pressurized Argentine team wielding the lion himself Lionel Messi, a Croatian team with one of the most disciplined midfielders in this world cup and lastly the Iceland team popularly called Vikings and are known to pull off upset at the weirdest times.
But many Nigerian fans would have said: “We can qualify, if we can salvage a draw against Croatia, beat Iceland and hope for God intervention against the Albicelestes”.
However, in this game called football, nothing is certain. Ten days ago June 15th, things took an unexpected turn when Nigeria lost to Croatia with an underwhelming performance and Lionel Messi’s Argentina sharing points with the Vikings, in fact, Messi himself couldn’t even score against a film director when he missed a spot kick.
Right there, that moment the super eagles’ chances slimmed down drastically and all hopes of making it to the round 16 was left hanging in shreds.
Fortunately 3days ago, A Messiah was to be discovered in the person of Ahmed Musa who bagged two outstanding goals against a bunch of doctors and their dentist manager in a crunch encounter at Volgograd Arena.
Even the Vikings with Ice in their veins could feel the burning heat of the eagle in Musa. He was indeed a super eagle.
To make matter interesting, Argentina had fallen to a sounding defeat to the very much determined Croatian team by a three-goal margin. And Croatia now seats comfortably on top of the group with six points and Nigeria is second.
points and the most surprising thing is Argentina is bottom of the group with just one point to their name. So pathetic.
The super eagles’ chances have been revived by a single game and a single man. A game where everything went right and the tactics just seemed to be made for the players.
Well, the traditional 3-5-2 formation was made for the players and it was evident in the game against Iceland as Musa’s speed was a serious torn on the Iceland team and Moses creativity was also a constant problem.
It’s a good thing the super eagles found their rhythm and the right tactics sooner rather than later as one would wonder the reason the 4-2-3-1 formation was adopted against Croatia. It was an obviously a mistake and players were out of position leading to the loss.
The super eagles will take on Argentina tomorrow and if there is any chance of Nigeria making it out if the group, they have to play at least a draw and hope Iceland doesn’t beat Croatia by more than 3 goals. It’s definitely not going to be a walk In the park and the strength of the Argentine squad can’t be underestimated after all they still wield the mighty Messi.
But one thing is for sure, the super eagles of Nigeria will go into the game with their heads high and hope of making the fans back home proud irrespective of who they will be facing in the final round of the good stage.
They just need Messi to be quiet for one more game and the Albicelestes to have one more bad game and then we can surely ride our luck and make it out of the group of death.
Guest Writer – Abdul-Lateef Rufai
It was perhaps the least surprising award announcement because of all the surprises Victor Oladipo provided the Indiana Pacers and their fans last season.
The Pacers guard was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player on Monday night. Oladipo is the fifth Pacer to win the award, which began in 1985-86, tying the Orlando Magic for the most.
Jalen Rose (2000), Jermaine O’Neal, Danny Granger and Paul George were the previous Pacers to win the award.
“Shout out to the Pacers organization for believing in me, all the Indiana Pacers,” Oladipo said. “It’s only the beginning for us. We’re just getting started.”
Indianapolis’ Oscar Robertson was given the NBA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Former Butler coach and Zionsville native Brad Stevens and Dwane Casey, who spent part of his childhood in Indianapolis, were two of the three finalists for Coach of the Year. Casey won the award.
Oladipo beat out Houston’s Clint Capela and Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie for the award.
Source – IndyStar
Former Green Eagles Captain Segun Odegbami has expressed his confidence in the Super Eagles ahead of their final Group game against Argentina on Tuesday Night.
In a Telephone Interview on Brila FM, Odegbami confirmed to Nigerians that the Eagles are fully ready to take on the Argentines in a do or die affair later today at Saint Petersburg.
Feeding questions from the Chairman/CEO Brila Media, the 65-year-old Football icon said he was able to meet with the players and their officials on Monday Night in a bid to further charge them and appreciate the lads for the job done so far.
Ahead of the Group D’s decisive encounter on Tuesday Night, Croatia National team Manager, Zlatko Dalic has confirmed the decision to rest his star players vs Iceland.
Speaking to Reporters during his Press Conference on Monday said he will definitely rest some of his top players having already secured qualification into the round of 16.
Croatia’s decision to rest players for their final Group D match against Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday could hinder Argentina’s slim hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase.
Argentina needs to beat Nigeria on the same day and hope Iceland can’t better their result at the Rostov Arena.
However, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic has said he will rest key stars with his side already in the last 16.
Iceland’s chances of joining them will likely hinge on the performance of Everton playmaker and creative talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson.
