Sporting Life
Ahmed Musa celebrates putting Nigeria ahead against Iceland
Ahmed Musa celebrates putting Nigeria ahead against Iceland

Nigeria 2-0 Iceland: Ahmed Musa brace gives Nigeria hope of progression

Football
Fri June 22, 2018 · 7y ago

Ahmed Musa scored twice as Nigeria bounced back from their opening defeat to beat Group D rivals Iceland 2-0.

Leicester forward Musa opened the scoring early in the second half and fired home another brilliant goal in the 75th minute to put Nigeria in control.

Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson missed an 83rd-minute penalty as Nigeria's victory ensured they, Iceland and Argentina can all still qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup with one game to play.

Iceland held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in their opening match and made the better start.

Sigurdsson's early free-kick was well saved by Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, who then gathered another effort from the Everton midfielder.

Nigeria, who lost their opening game 2-0 against Croatia, had a much better shape to their side and slowly played themselves into the match.

Leicester pair Kelechi Iheanacho and fellow forward Musa, plus defender Kenneth Omeruo all started and the Super Eagles enjoyed plenty of possession.

Both sides failed to carve out any further chances before Birkir Bjarnason just failed to latch on to Birkir Saevarsson's excellent diagonal cross in the 37th minute.

Iceland finished the first half on top, with Alfred Finnbogason firing wide following a fine cross from Sigurdsson.

Nigeria, for all their possession, failed to trouble Iceland's defence and did not have one shot on target as the first half ended goalless.

Ahmed Musa scores Nigeria's second goal against Iceland

The Super Eagles' coach Gernot Rohr sent on Tyronne Ebuehi for fellow defender Brian Idowu during the interval and his side made a flying start to the second half.

Victor Moses collected a headed clearance and burst down the right and his cross was brilliantly controlled in the penalty area by Musa, who lashed home his side's first goal of the tournament to give Nigeria a 49th-minute lead.

Wilfred Ndidi's effort was then saved by goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson as Iceland were rocked.

Heimir Hallgrimsson's side regained their composure but Nigeria were now full of running and continued to threaten.

Musa made and finished his second goal as the Super Eagles took control. The Leicester forward, whose curling effort rattled Iceland's crossbar a minute earlier, raced into the penalty area and drew Halldorsson before firing home.

Iceland were handed a lifeline in the 80th minute following Ebuehi's challenge on Finnbogason in the area.

New Zeland referee Matthew Conger consulted with VAR before awarding a penalty, but Sigurdsson sent his spot kick over the crossbar.

Iheanacho fired wide for Nigeria in the closing stages and Finnbogason's angled drive was saved by Uzoho at the other end, but time ran out for Iceland.

Gylfi Sigurdsson blasts his penalty over the bar

Opta facts

  • All six of Nigeria’s wins at the World Cup have come against European opposition, and they have kept a clean sheet in five of those six victories.
  • This was Iceland’s first ever defeat in a group stage match at a major international tournament (Euros and World Cup), having previously drawn three and won one of four such games.
  • This is Nigeria’s first victory in a World Cup game by a margin by more than one goal since they beat Greece 2-0 in 1994 at their first ever World Cup tournament.
  • Iceland have failed to score a goal in a match at either the European Championships or World Cup for the first time, in what was their seventh such game (five at the Euros, two at the World Cup).
  • This was only Nigeria’s second win in their last 14 matches at the World Cup (D3 L9), having also beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014.
  • Nigerian attacker Ahmed Musa is now his country’s all-time top scorer in World Cup games with four goals. Only Asamoah Gyan (6 goals for Ghana) and Roger Milla (5 for Cameroon) have scored more for an African nation.
  • Ahmed Musa has scored each of Nigeria’s last four goals at the World Cup, having also bagged a brace in a 3-2 defeat to Argentina in 2014.
  • Nigeria did not attempt a single shot in the opening 45 minutes, the first side to do so in the first half of a World Cup match since South Korea against Algeria in 2014
  • Nigeria’s Francis Uzoho is the second youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup match (19 years, 237 days), behind only Li Chan-Myong in North Korea’s 1-0 win over Italy in July 1966 (19 years, 198 days).
  • Iceland’s Gylfi Sigurdsson fired in two shots on target in the first six minutes of this match, as many as his side managed in total in 90 minutes against Argentina in their opening match.

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