Needing a succeed to stand a find of qualifying, Argentina went ahead through Messi ( 14 ), turning home from 10 yards at a flimsy angle after Ever Banega wonderfully found him from deep.
As it happened
World Cup day 13 in a nutshell
image :
Messi celebrates after scoring Argentina ‘s beginning goal
Player ratings
Nigeria: Uzoho ( 7 ), Idowu ( 6 ), Ndidi ( 7 ), Ekong ( 6 ), Balogun ( 6 ), Musa ( 7 ), Etebo ( 7 ), Mikel ( 7 ), Moses ( 7 ), Iheanacho ( 5 ), Omeruo ( 6 )
Subs: Ighalo ( 6 ), Iwobi ( NA ), Simy ( NA )
Argentina: Armani ( 7 ), Mercado ( 6 ), Rojo ( 6 ), Otamendi ( 5 ), Tagliafico ( 6 ), Mascherano ( 4 ), Banega ( 8 ), Perez ( 5 ), Di Maria ( 4 ), Messi ( 8 ), Higuain ( 4 )
Subs: Pavon ( 6 ), Meza ( 6 ), Aguero ( NA )
Man of the match: Ever Banega
Messi then hit the post with a free-kick, but Nigeria were allowed a path into the game as Victor Moses slotted dwelling a penalty ( 51 ) from Javier Mascherano ‘s tug on Leon Balogun from a corner. But Argentina won it, meaning they ‘ll play France in Kazan on Saturday, while Croatia will play Denmark on Sunday .
In their third and concluding group bet on, Sampaoli went for five changes and 4-4-2, his third different formation of the World Cup, but it worked early on. Banega, one of the incoming midfielders, played a ticket ball from trench over the Nigeria defense for Messi, whose touch was superb before finishing past Francis Uzoho with his unaccented right foot .
persona :
Messi is challenged by Nigeria ‘s Bryan Idowu
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Messi ‘s very well through ball gave Gonzalo Higuain the chance to double their jumper cable before the half-hour grade, but the Juventus striker could n’t dink the ball over the out-rushing Uzoho. Messi, who had been criticised in Argentina ‘s beginning two games for looking out of sorts, was in the mood in St Petersburg, hitting the post with a 20-yard free-kick, though Uzoho can be credited again for getting the slightest touch on his effort. early in a dramatic second one-half, Mascherano first base gave away a gratuitous corner before grappling with Balogun from the resulting crossbreed, with turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir going to VAR before awarding the spot-kick. Victor Moses punctually converted, meaning Nigeria were through as it stood .
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Victor Moses celebrates after scoring for Nigeria
Odion Ighalo then missed a clear chance to put Nigeria ahead as the ball dropped kindly to him 10 yards out, while at the early end Higuain blazed over unmarked in the box from Rojo ‘s center. But Argentina got their full of life achiever shortly after, as Rojo met Gabriel Mercado ‘s cross from the veracious wonderfully, slamming low past Uzoho from 12 yards and sparking elated scenes on and off the flip .
Man of the match – Ever Banega
Brought in as one of five changes, Banega ‘s choice on the ball put Argentina in see in the first half. Though his influence reduced after the break, his ball for Messi for the opener was world class ; from deep, his loft pas over the defense left the ahead with a clear sight at goal. He won all of four of his attempted tackles, and recovered the ball more than any other Argentina musician .
Reaction
Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr: “ It ‘s a big disappointment because my team gave their best, they made a very good second half and missed qualify by a few minutes. then I am gallant of my players because they played well in the second half. We are missing a short morsel of experience, we have a new team and I think this kind of matches are building the quality of the team and in four years they will be very potent. ” Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli : “ My players put their hearts out, with a lot of courage, in a very unmanageable here and now. They have achieved a triumph which is very authoritative for the future and that will strengthen us going further. ”
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Opta stats
- Argentina have qualified from the World Cup group stages for the fourth consecutive tournament (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018).
- Argentina are unbeaten in their last 40 World Cup games when opening the scoring (W35 D5), since a 3-1 defeat against Germany in 1958.
- Messi’s first-half goal for Argentina ended a run of 662 minutes without a goal in the World Cup – his last goal came in June 2014, also against Nigeria.
- Messi (2006, 2014 and 2018) is the third Argentina player to have scored at three different World Cup tournaments, alongside Diego Maradona (1982, 1986 and 1994) and Gabriel Batistuta (1994, 1998 and 2002).
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Argentina were heading out until Rojo popped up in the 86th minute
What’s next?
Argentina will now play France in Kazan on Saturday, having finished second in Group D. Winners Croatia face Denmark on Sunday.