It was a mouthwatering encounter in Russia as the Super Eagles of Nigeria thrashed la Albiceleste of Argentina 4-2. Although Argentina was without Lionel Messi, Coach Jorge Sampaoli fielded a star studded team.
The Super Eagles were two goals behind in the first half but pulled one back just before half time. Ever Banega scored the first goal 28 minutes into the game, before the Man City man, Sergio Aguero made it 2-0 in the 36th minute.
Leicester City striker, Kelechi Iheancho, pulled one back for Nigeria at the stroke of half time. It was not long after the resumption of second half, Nigeria leveled up with Alex Iwobi making it 2-2.
Both teams were not ready to settle for a draw. For every Argentine attack, Nigeria counter attacked. A third goal was scored by Brian Idowu in the 54th minute, while Alex Iwobi dribbled two players at the edge of the box 18 in the 73rd minute to make it four goals for the Super Eagles.
This victory makes it the second time that Nigeria would defeat the senior Argentine side. The first victory was a friendly match at the National Stadium Abuja in 2011 where Nigeria defeated Argentina 4-1.
However, victory against Argentina at the World Cup has eluded Nigeria. The first meeting was at the USA 94 World Cup where the trickery of Diego Maradona saw Argentina win 2-1.
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The second meeting was at Korea/Japan in 2002. Nigeria lost 1-0 in that encounter. In 2010 an Argentine side managed by Maradona defeated Nigeria in the group stage of the World Cup in South Africa by one goal to nil, courtesy of a goal by Gabriel Heinze.
The last meeting at a World Cup was in Brazil 2014. That game ended 3-2 in favour of la Albiceleste
This recent victory for the Super Eagles is a morale booster. The players played brilliantly. John Obi Mikel was at his very best in the heart of the midfield. He controlled the tempo of the game as he made Javier Mascherano, the Barcelona midfielder look like an amateur.
The performance of Alex Iwobi on the other hand showed that when Mikel hangs his boots, he can certainly fill them. His movement around the 18 yard made life difficult for the Argentine defenders. With Mikel and Iwobi giving the team balance, Ahmed Musa and Kelcehi Iheanacho were causing Argentina all sort of problems with their pace. Gernot Rohr has got the team playing quick counter attacking football with Mikel there to calm the game down when it was necessary.
This pattern worked for Juventus when Antonio Conte was coach. He made use of the flanks and quick attackers for counter attack and used Andrea Pirlo to give his team the needed balance. With the youthful exuberance on display and a leader like Mikel around to orchestrate things by steering the younger ones in the right direction, the Super Eagles of Nigeria may just be the dark horse of the World Cup.
