The Super Eagles in Volgograd on Friday secured a 2-0 victory over Iceland to lift the mood of football fans in the country and set up a showdown with Argentina on Tuesday 26th of June at 7pm local time.
Leicester City's Ahmed Musa grabbed a brace in the second half to give Nigeria the 3 points and blow the group of death wide open leaving only Croatia guaranteed a place in the round of 16.
It was a game Nigeria had to avoid losing in order not to be eliminated from the tournament early. Fortunately, Nigeria went one better and achieved a win that effectively puts the fate of the Super Eagles in their own hands.
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr made changes to the starting line up and tweaked the formation by opting to play 3 at the back for this game and handed Kenneth Omeruo a starting shirt alongside Leon Balogun and William Ekong as part of 3 centre backs.
Ahmed Musa was given the nod to start ahead of Alex Iwobi who dropped to the bench while Kelechi Iheanacho started in place of Odion Ighalo.
The Super Eagles again started the game at a slow tempo and were quite abysmal in the first half and registered no single attempt on goal. Iceland on the other hand were much more purposeful and created a few chances which they were unable to convert.
The Super Eagles finally turned up in the second half with Musa giving Nigeria the lead after controlling Victor Moses' low cross and blasting into the roof of the net.
Musa scored his second goal after breaking with pace and rounding off the Iceland keeper and slotting home to give Nigeria a comfortable lead.
It could have been a nervy last 10 minutes for Nigeria as the VAR ruled correctly that Tyrone Ebuehi had fouled Iceland striker, Finbogason in the 18 yard box but Gylfi Sigurdsson fluffed his lines and blasted his penalty sky high.
This victory over Iceland undoubtedly will give the Super Eagles confidence as they take on Argentina in their last group game. Argentina simply have to beat the Super Eagles to have any hopes of qualifying.
As for the Eagles, a draw with Argentina won't be a bad result unless Iceland record a heavy victory over Croatia who are all but assured a place in the second round.
How should the Super Eagles approach the Argentina game?
It was nice to see how Nigeria dealt comfortably with set pieces in the Iceland encounter. Of course, there were one or two scary moments but over all it was a more assured display from the Nigerian team as a whole when defending set plays.
Against Argentina, this defensive organisation must be maintained and even more so as we will face a desperate Leo Messi, Kun Aguero and possibly Paulo Dybala as Argentina have to go for broke.
Concentration levels should not drop for a second because it is all Argentina might need to score the crucial goal that may see Argentina through. A lapse in concentration by our defence is what almost gave Iceland a lifeline. The Super Eagles need to stop giving away soft penalties to the opposition. They have already conceded 2 in 2 matches.
Gernot Rohr is likely to retain the 3-5-2 formation that worked perfectly for the match against Iceland. Will Rohr now go on to pick the same starting 11 that featured against Iceland or would he reshuffle the squad to suit the match strategy for Argentina?
Rohr is likely to adopt tactics designed to frustrate the Argentines and ensure that the team keeps it tight at the back while trying to catch Argentina on the break. Expect the Eagles to do a lot of bus parking as Messi and co begin to ramp up the pressure on the Super Eagles defence as they seek for the goals they need to win and improve their goal difference.
Make no mistake, the Super Eagles will be up against it and will need to play the game of their lives against Argentina.
Many Super Eagles supporters are optimistic of a victory over Argentina or at least a result that will ensure qualification for the next round after the morale boosting victory over Iceland. It is pertinent to note that Nigeria has played Argentina 4 times at the World Cup and has not recorded a single victory over Argentina losing on all occasions.
Will the Super Eagles break this hoodoo and advance to the round of 16 or will Argentina end Nigeria's hope of progressing by defeating Nigeria again for a fifth time?
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