Nigeria breathed life into their 2018 World Cup campaign, with a 2-0 win over Iceland on Friday evening.
Head coach Gernot Rohr shuffled his team for the second Group D fixture, fielding Ahmed Musa, Kenneth Omeruo, Tyronne Ebuehi and Kelechi Iheanacho from the start.
Although the first half was largely a forgettable affair, it was a different story in the second 45 minutes.
At least from the point Musa opened scoring. The Leicester City winger controlled a Victor Moses pass from the right, before lashing past the goalkeeper.
He made it 2-0 and game over, chasing down a long pass, before calmly striding into Iceland’s defence and finishing it with aplomb.
Victory propels Nigeria into second place, behind Croatia who have six points and have already qualified for the knockout rounds, ahead of the decisive third game against Argentina.
Lionel Messi and co are desperately in need of a win in that game, as they only have one point and are in danger of an early exit.
For Rohr’s men, a draw will be just enough.
Iceland take on Croatia in the other match, with one point and a -2 difference. Surely, they cannot put more than three past Luka Modric and his team-mates.
So, unto Tuesday then.
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