Can Nigeria Hammer The Final Nail on Faltering Argentina?

It is now three days since the Super Eagles of Nigeria secured its first win in the 2018 World Cup against Iceland after falling to Croatia 2-0 in its opening match.

In a ‘must win’ state, the Super Eagles did not take anything lightly- an encounter that even team Captain John Mikel Obi made a vow for.

“I am the captain of this team, if I have to sacrifice for this team to progress, I will. If I have to sacrifice a position, go play wherever, I will do that for this team to win games.”

In the end, it was an Ahmed Musa’s brace that helped the Super Eagles nail the tough Icelandic outfit at the Volgograd Arena. Musa netted in the second half after a goalless first half. It was a result that revived the Super Eagles chances of going further in the World Cup and placed the team second in Group D with three points.

However, all is not over. The Africans must jettison Argentina to be assured of a slot in the next round.

A huge task for the Eagles, this will be the ninth meeting between the two teams in all tournaments and fifth in the World Cup.

At this stage, both harbor ambition of reaching round-16 and those plans cannot be overlooked as pressure creep in. Nigeria will be making a fourth appearance in the last 16 if they shove aside the La Albiceleste. The same will do for Argentina with the hope of a draw or a win for Croatia against Iceland.

Although Argentina’s attacking force has being disjointed in the two previous matches, the gap created may be fill-in and could be difficult to handle.

So having trounced a resolute Iceland, could Gernot Rohr and his boys hold their nerves to hammer the last nail on Argentina? It won’t be long until we find out.

Featured Image: Getty