Nigeria vs Argentina

Date
Wed 25th June 2014 (UTC)

Timestamp

Time

13:00:00 UTC

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League
FIFA World Cup

Season
2014

Round
0

Status

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		vs
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Description

The two teams had met in six previous matches, including three times in the FIFA World Cup group stage, all won by Argentina (1994: 2–1; 2002: 1–0; 2010: 1–0).

Before the match, Nigeria were the only team yet to concede in the tournament, but their defence were breached inside three minutes when Ángel Di María's shot hit the post and Lionel Messi slammed home the rebound. Nigeria, which would qualify for the knockout stage if they gained a point or if Iran failed to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other match, equalised within a minute, when Michel Babatunde fed Ahmed Musa, and he cut inside and curled the ball into the net. Messi put Argentina in front in first half injury time with a direct free kick, but Musa equalised once again early in the second half, after playing a one-two with Emmanuel Emenike and scored. Argentina, which needed only a point to win the group, then scored the game winner when a corner from Ezequiel Lavezzi was flicked on by a Ezequiel Garay header and Marcos Rojo scored with his knee. Argentina won the group with a perfect record of three wins out of three, while Nigeria were able to qualify as group runners-up despite losing as Iran also lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other match.

Musa became the first Nigerian player to score more than once in a World Cup match.