NIGERIA vs. ARGENTINA
Date: June 25, 2014
Time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
Venue: Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
Overall Head-to-Head Record (W-L-T): 4-1-1 Argentina
Last Match: 2011 Friendly. Argentina def. Nigeria 3-1.
Line: Argentina -200
Group F Preview here.
Starting Lineups posted separately once they're announced.
Team Profiles
World Ranking: Nigeria (44th), Argentina (5th)
Managers: Stephen Keshi (NGA), Alejandro Sabella (ARG)
Captains: Vincent Enyeama (NGA), Lionel Messi (ARG)
World Cup Appearances: 5 (NGA), 16 (ARG)
Best Finish: Nigeria (2x Round of 16, Last in 1998), Argentina (2x Champions, Last in 1986)
Qualifying Records: Nigeria (5-0-3, GF: 11, GA: 4), Argentina (9-2-5, GF: 35, GA: 15)
Previous Game Results
Nigeria
Argentina
June 15th - Argentina def. Bosnia 2-1
June 21st - Argentina def. Iran 1-0
Rosters
Injuries/Discipline
Argentina: Marcos Rojo (Yellow Card)
Overview
Nigeria and Argentina meet in their final group match in Porto Alegre. The closest host city to the Argentine border, it promises to be raucous pro-Argentina crowd as they look to top Group F with a perfect 9 point record.
While Argentina are already through, Nigeria have not yet locked up their spot in the Round of 16. Needing at least a point in this match to guarantee advancement, watch for Nigeria to try and take the action to an Argentina team that hasn't been overly convincing with their play so far this tournament.
Nigeria turned in their best performance in recent memory in a 1-0 victory over Bosnia. It was a coming out party internationally for striker Emmanuel Emenike. His size and speed was too much for the Bosnian defence to handle and Nigeria's success today may be dependent on his ability to cause the same trouble for Argentina's central defenders.
Argentina meanwhile will be hoping they can get some contributions from their strikers that aren't named Lionel Messi. No goals have been scored this tournament from the likes of Higuain, Aguero or di Maria, and Messi has had to bail out Argentina with second-half goals in both group games so far.
In the bizarre world of FIFA advancement scenarios, there is an extant possibility in this match and the Iran/Bosnia one happening concurrently that a draw of lots will be required to determine second-place in this group. If Nigeria are to lose by 1 goal, while Iran defeats Bosnia by 1 and scores 1 more goal then Nigeria, the two teams will tie for second and be even on every tiebreaker. Keep an eye on that when watching.
Personnel
In the Nigerian Third: Advantage certainly goes to Argentina but how big an advantage depends entirely on how they want to attack this team. Iran got chances by penetrating the central defence with Ghoochannejhad. Bosnia stayed on the periphery mostly and rained shots from distance. Neither scored but Iran certainly looked the more dangerous. Argentina can maximize success by trying to get the ball deep in the penalty area. They haven't so far this tournament though. Advantage: Argentina.
In the Midfield: Some uncharacteristic giveaways in the Midfield by Argentina this tournament and they'll face a Nigerian team that is able to create pressure in the midfield with their size and skill of their holding midfielders. Argentina haven't been terribly enterprising going forward and will be interesting to see how they react to Nigeria closing them down quickly. Advantage: Argentina, slightly.
In the Argentine Third: Argentina are always good for at least one horrendous blunder in every game. I also think that Nigeria have some young forwards that are able to punish Argentina for their mistakes. Emenike will be a handful for them in the back. Better play from Romero in goal is helping them this tournament though. Advantage: Even.
Goalkeeping: Nigeria is the only squad remaining with a clean sheet for the tournament. That's no accident either. Vincent Enyeama has great instincts and reflexes to go with excellent positioning. Has hands full with Argentina's strikers but keeps Nigeria in every game. Advantage: Nigeria.
While Argentina are already through, Nigeria have not yet locked up their spot in the Round of 16. Needing at least a point in this match to guarantee advancement, watch for Nigeria to try and take the action to an Argentina team that hasn't been overly convincing with their play so far this tournament.
Nigeria turned in their best performance in recent memory in a 1-0 victory over Bosnia. It was a coming out party internationally for striker Emmanuel Emenike. His size and speed was too much for the Bosnian defence to handle and Nigeria's success today may be dependent on his ability to cause the same trouble for Argentina's central defenders.
Argentina meanwhile will be hoping they can get some contributions from their strikers that aren't named Lionel Messi. No goals have been scored this tournament from the likes of Higuain, Aguero or di Maria, and Messi has had to bail out Argentina with second-half goals in both group games so far.
In the bizarre world of FIFA advancement scenarios, there is an extant possibility in this match and the Iran/Bosnia one happening concurrently that a draw of lots will be required to determine second-place in this group. If Nigeria are to lose by 1 goal, while Iran defeats Bosnia by 1 and scores 1 more goal then Nigeria, the two teams will tie for second and be even on every tiebreaker. Keep an eye on that when watching.
Personnel
In the Nigerian Third: Advantage certainly goes to Argentina but how big an advantage depends entirely on how they want to attack this team. Iran got chances by penetrating the central defence with Ghoochannejhad. Bosnia stayed on the periphery mostly and rained shots from distance. Neither scored but Iran certainly looked the more dangerous. Argentina can maximize success by trying to get the ball deep in the penalty area. They haven't so far this tournament though. Advantage: Argentina.
In the Midfield: Some uncharacteristic giveaways in the Midfield by Argentina this tournament and they'll face a Nigerian team that is able to create pressure in the midfield with their size and skill of their holding midfielders. Argentina haven't been terribly enterprising going forward and will be interesting to see how they react to Nigeria closing them down quickly. Advantage: Argentina, slightly.
In the Argentine Third: Argentina are always good for at least one horrendous blunder in every game. I also think that Nigeria have some young forwards that are able to punish Argentina for their mistakes. Emenike will be a handful for them in the back. Better play from Romero in goal is helping them this tournament though. Advantage: Even.
Goalkeeping: Nigeria is the only squad remaining with a clean sheet for the tournament. That's no accident either. Vincent Enyeama has great instincts and reflexes to go with excellent positioning. Has hands full with Argentina's strikers but keeps Nigeria in every game. Advantage: Nigeria.
Nigeria will win if:
Keep Argentina on the outside of your penalty area, get the ball to Emenike on the fast break and do not let Messi go left on the ball. Nigeria won't win possession or field position battle and that's ok provided they keep Argentina as far from their goal as possible. And when Messi has the ball, you have to close him down or at least prevent him from creating space to his left. Ermin Bicakcic and Reza Ghoochannejhad did and ask them how that worked out. Emenike is the biggest threat to score and if he gets a head of steam, no defender on Argentina will be able to stop him.
Argentina will win if:
Put more pressure on the Nigerian goal. They were too comfortable passing the ball around and sending in long crosses against Iran when they collapsed defensively. Nigeria won't have quite as tight a lid on their penalty area but Argentina can't beat them if they don't try to penetrate and attack them. Already through to the knockout round, no better time to create more quality scoring chances, even if you have to loosen things up defensively.
Nigeria get enough pressure with their speed and power to get a few chances and pick up a goal. Messi again bails out Argentina late for the winner.
Argentina 2-1 Nigeria
No comments:
Post a Comment