St Petersburg: The great escape act. That is how Argentina’s qualification for the knockout stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup can aptly be summed up. An 86th minute strike from defender Marcos Rojo gave them a barely deserved 2-1 win over Nigeria, eliminating the African side.
The twice World Cup champions will face France in the last 16 while Croatia, who advance as winners of Group D with the maximum nine points after beating Iceland 2-1, will take on Denmark.
Nigeria were just minutes away from progressing before central defender Rojo superbly volleyed home a cross from the right by Gabriel Mercado.
Messi had put them ahead in the 14th minute, with a fabulously taken goal but the Africans equalised through a Victor Moses penalty in the 51st minute. The South Americans struggled to respond to that setback with a ragged second half display.
For all their attacking talent, it was their centre-half Rojo who delivered the decisive blow with a powerful and accurate strike that Messi himself would have been proud of.
“What’s important is that we went through,” said Messi, who had been cheered on by compatriot Diego Maradona watching from the stands, along with a massive following of passionate and loud Argentine supporters.
The game began in ideal fashion for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, who had managed just a point from their opening two games. Angel di Maria back in the side made some probing moves down the left to have the Nigerian defence a bit worried.
A perfectly-weighted diagonal ball over the top by Ever Banega was sublimely brought down on the outside of his thigh by Messi who then drove past Kenneth Omeruo before beating Nigeria’s teenage keeper Francis Uzoho with a right-footed shot to open the scoring.
The selection of Banega proved to be an inspired one by Sampaoli, with the Sevilla midfielder providing the quality service that had been lacking so far in Russia.
It had been an impressive half from Argentina but the game was to take a twist shortly after the interval.
Defending a corner, Argentine defender Javier Mascherano jockeyed Leon Balogun inside the area and when the Nigerian fell to the floor, Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir awarded a penalty. After lengthy and impassioned protests from the Argentine players, Moses managed to keep his cool and slot past Franco Armani to level the scores.
Nigeria wasted several chances to add a second and secure their place in the last 16 and they were furious that a video assistant referee (VAR) review failed to award them a penalty for a possible handball by Rojo.
The introduction of Cristian Pavon off the bench provided a bit of spark to the Argentine attack. But then again, they looked clueless as the Nigerian defence held firm scrapping for 50-50 and even 30-70 balls. Pavon’s runs down the right however, stretched their defence and that helped the Rojo get the goal.
At the other end, Gonzalo Higuain blasted over when free in the area, the only other clear chance that Argentina had in the second half. But saving Higuain and his teammates was the unlikely source of Manchester United central defender Rojo who kept Argentina’s tournament alive and left Nigeria, who had been positive and aggressive throughout, in total despair.
“It is what it is. It just wasn’t to be,” said Nigerian captain John Obi Mikel in tears after the game ended. “It is a young team, though, and in four years most will be ready for this tournament. I’m very proud of the boys, they’ve done really well.”
In spite of the win, Tuesday, the Albiceleste will be a worried lot as once more the defence was caught napping on a number of occasions. Also in the second session when Argentina were desperately looking for that second goal, Messi was at fault on a number of occasions by failing to pick up the right player with his passes. France, being a much more organised side than Nigeria, will definitely pounce on such errors and punish Argentina.
“How are we supposed to know what to do with football if we don’t even know what to do with Lionel Messi. He is not being used properly”
Jorge Valdano (Former Argentine player)
