At 18:00 in Volgograd, the last match of the second round of Group D took place. Iceland, seeking their first victory, fell short - Nigerian footballers woke up in the second half and achieved a victory with a score of 2-0.
The match started with an active performance by the Icelandic national team - Gylfi Sigurdsson made two dangerous shots in the first five minutes, but the opponents' goalkeeper confidently responded to his attempts.
Later, the game slowed down a bit - Nigeria tried several times to attack more dangerously, but they failed to create anything more threatening on Iceland's side.
At the end of the first half, Iceland was close to scoring, but Alfred Finnbogason's header after a standard situation passed by the post.
In the 49th minute, the first unexpected goal arrived - after a great pass from Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa controlled the ball technically in the penalty area and scored accurately, putting Nigeria in the lead.
In the 57th minute, Wilfred Ndidi tried his luck from about 30 meters, but the shot missed the target - the Icelandic goalkeeper pushed the ball out of his goal.
After conceding a goal, it was difficult for Iceland to recover - while Iceland tried to create attacks on the opponents' side, Nigeria dangerously transitioned from defense to offense.
In the 74th minute, A. Musa was close to his second goal - the Nigerian hit the crossbar of the opponents' goal from about 18 meters.
However, during the next attack, Nigeria went on the offensive again and the same A. Musa, after dribbling past the opponent's goalkeeper, sent Iceland into trouble - 2:0.
In the 81st minute, Iceland's hopes returned - a penalty kick was awarded to Nigeria. G. Sigurdsson failed to take advantage of this opportunity - his shot was very inaccurate and the result remained 2-0.
During the remaining time, both teams failed to score more goals and the match ended with Nigeria's victory.
This failure of Iceland is favorable for Argentina - Croatia secured the first place in the group after these matches, while Iceland and Argentines have one point each. In the final round of the group, Argentina will have to defeat Nigeria and wait for Iceland's failure or draw against Croatia.
Result:
Nigeria 2 - 0 Iceland
54' [1 - 0] A. Musa
75' [2 - 0] A. Musa
83' G. Sigurdsson (Iceland) missed a penalty kick
Okay - now for Match 2!
Here are the teams for #NGAISL
