Messi, Rojo help Argentina prevail over Nigeria in thriller

Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1 in a nail-biting group D clash to scrape through to the Round of 16 where they will meet France. Messi turned ‘Messiah’ in the 14th minute as he scored a brilliant right-footed goal to give Argentina the lead. But their joy was short-lived as Mascherano pulled down Balogun in the penalty box in the 49th minute. Moses took the resulting penalty and equalised in the 51st minute. Argentina lost steam after that goal and looked set to crash out of the World Cup. But it was Rojo who scored the winner in the 87th minute. Mercado sent a high ball into the penalty area, where Rojo hit it on the volley into the bottom right corner of the net. It was Argentina’s Toni Kroos moment.

Argentina came into the match sporting their longest winless run in the World Cup Finals (W0 D2 L2). Argentina had faced Nigeria four times at the World Cup before and they had beaten them on all occasions. Argentina had made a slew of changes with Higuain, Di Maria, Banega, Armani and Rojo all making the starting line-up. It was the oldest squad to be featured at the World Cup Finals. Argentina opened the attack with Tagliafico taking the first shot of the match, but it was off target. Argentina looked much more composed with the ball. Messi charged down the left side of the box, wriggling his way past a couple of defenders but his cross to Higuain was cut out.

Messi was not be denied for long though, as he raised the roof with a superb strike in the 14th minute. Banega sent a brilliant cross from the half which released Messi. But the Argentine still had a lot of work left to do. The ball dropped on to Messi’s chest who controlled it superbly with his thighs, before taking a short touch with his left foot. He then took a shot with his right foot past a diving Uzoho. It was pandemonium at the St Petersburg Arena as the crowd rose to its feet to applaud the Messi-ah. With the goal, Messi became the first person to have scored in a World Cup in his teens, twenties and thirties.

Banega continued to cause problems for Nigeria. Sampaoli would be wondering why he kept the creative midfielder out of the game against Croatia. Banega released Di Maria moments later on goal but he was brought down by Balogun who got a yellow card for the offence. Messi took the resultant free-kick and curled it over the wall, but it hit the post and deflected away. Replays showed that Uzoho had gotten the slightest of touches. Argentina looked menacing and attacked with intent every time they had the ball. They seemed to have shaken off their blues as they headed into their dressing room at half-time.

But Argentina were soon pulled down from cloud nine, as Nigeria were awarded a penalty in the 49th minute. Mascherano pulled down Balogun and was subsequently booked. Moses put the penalty away with relative ease to level the scores. Argentina looked shaky following the goal. They failed to keep the ball and looked slightly disorganised. Mascherano, determined to make up for his blunder, played superbly to keep Argentina in the match. Argentina almost pulled ahead in the 81st minute, but Higuain squandered the chance, as his blunders in front of goal continued. But a moment of inspiration from Marcos Rojo won it for Argentina in the 87th minute, breaking Nigerian hearts.

It was an extraordinary match which had all the drama. Goals, bookings, VAR, penalty and a late finish. Argentina just about scraped past Nigeria to finish second in group D. They will now face France in the Round of 16. Argentina made a lot of mistakes in their group stage matches, but they more than made up for it. Both their goals came by courtesy of two brilliant shots. Nigeria played their hearts out. Their only dilemma was in front of goal. They failed to capitalise on their chances. Their only goal was by courtesy of a penalty. As their dream ends, Messi’s and Argentina’s dream continues. This has been a thrilling World Cup so far. Stay tuned, there’s more to come!