A late goal from Marcos Rojo allowed Argentina to edge Nigeria, 2-1, and join Croatia into the Round of 16 in the 2018 FiFA World Cup Russia.
In the other group D match, Croatia sealed its Last 16 entry with a 2-1 victory over first timers Iceland.
And, it was just what Argentina needed to finish as runners-up in Group D as they not only had to chalk up a win equivalent to 3 points but they also needed Croatia to win its match to advance into the knockout stage.
This because Argentina was at the brink of elimination with just a point after opening its World Cup campaign with a 1-all draw against Iceland, then a shocking 0-3 defeat to Croatia, creating a whole lot of drama of who is to blame and whether or not Jorge Sampaoli will remain as Argentina’s coach for its match against Nigeria.
Man of the Match Lionel Messi rose up to the occasion and put Argentina ahead in the 14th minute, scoring the 100th goal in the 2018 World Cup.
However, a foul committed by Javier Mascherano in the penalty area allowed Nigeria to score the equalizer in the 51st minute converted by Victor Moses.
Again and again, Argentina turned to Messi to do some magic and put it ahead again but it was Rojo who answered the call in the 86th minute, a repeat of Argentina’s 3-2 win over Nigeria in 2014 wherein Rojo also scored the winning goal.
This is the fourth straight time that the two-time World Cup champion advanced into the Round of 16.
In the other match, Croatia, who already bagged a slot into the last 16, ended its group stage campaign as the Group D winners with 9 points after winning all of its three matches.
It took a while for Croatia to find the back of the net but eventually managed it courtesy of Milan Badelj in the 53rd minute.
Gylfi Sigurdsson converted a penalty in the 76th minute to keep Iceland abreast but Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the victory with his goal in the 90th minute.
Badelj was named Man of the Match.
Argentina will face France in the Round of 16 while Croatia will go up against Denmark.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
