Argentina V Nigeria World Cup 2014

Argentina V Nigeria Fifa World Cup 2014

After match synopsis in red!!

Beers: Group F of Beer World Cup: http://thisdrinkinglife.com/world-cup-beer-group-f/

Who is set to win the battle of the beers? Quilmes V Guinness Export. Who will quench the thirst, set the mood, get me in the right spirit? Click on picture for a preview of the beers.

Get the beer result after, much after!

Guinness Export V Quilmes: 2-0 win for Guinness Export as it powered to victory. Much like Nigeria itself, Guinness Export is strong and has a good bite to it. As nice and tasty as Quilmes is and all it was no match for the black stuff. Where with Quilmes you have to think about the taste, with Guinness you don’t have this problem. It hits you, you taste it, and its up-to you whether you like it or not, the classic Guinness aftertaste. Quilmes was a nice sweet beer with a malty aroma that has a crystal clear yellow colour. It certainly is a very drinkable beer, light and good for a session. Guinness, well, looks like Guinness! Black colour, white head, strong coffee aromas and a well balanced tasting stout. There was more going on in my glass of Guinness than with Quilmes, so I gave the win to Guinness Export. Click on links below for full beer information and reviews

PreGame:

Argentina are already through to the last 16 but they don’t want to lose today’s game as a defeat would mean they could be playing France in the second round rather than either Ecuador or Switzerland. You would imagine they have enough ability and skill in their team to beat Nigeria but, from the first two games, we have seen a very lack lustre Argentinian team who have struggled to beat Bosnia and Iran. Without Messi they would find it difficult to even get out of this relatively simple group.

Argentina didn’t look smooth at all against Iran in the last match, and they don’t look good in defence. Even Iran caused them some serious questions here, troubling them from set pieces, corners and long balls into the box. If it wasn’t for Romero, Iran might have had a goal. The Argentine goalkeeper saved his team from an embarrassing scoreline. His one handed save from a Ghoochannejhad shot was the save of the tournament so far for me.

Going forward they were not much better, with Gago particularly standing out for his inefficiency. Aguero and Higuain also offered very little up front. Imagine playing a 4-3-3 formation and yet Iran had the better chances of the game. Tells you a lot about the forwards of Argentina. Argentina only had one more shot on target than Iran which was Messi’s late winner.

Nigeria: Have Nigeria done enough in the last game to get through? Can they sneak a point against Argentina? Can Bosnia do them a favour? All Nigeria need in this game is a draw to get into the second round. This is very possible since it looks like the Argentina forwards are off form, and Nigeria also have a few players of themselves that can cause a few problems for the brittle Argentinian back line.

Nigeria are the only team yet that hasn’t conceded a goal in this years World Cup. But before you get too excited about that stat, remember they have only played Iran and Bosnia so far, with the Nigerian goalkeeper having about three or four total shots to save in the two games. But despite not as busy as you would expect, the Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama did somehow deflect Dzeko’s last minute shot onto the post and away to safety. He looks big and strong, and might be hard to beat today.

Emmanuel Emenike was another who had a great game against Bosnia. The man is a powerhouse of a player who caused Emir Spahic all sorts of problems on the right wing. It was Emenike who found a away past the luckless Bosnian defender to pass to Odemwingie, whose shot hit the net in what proved to be the only goal of the game. I don’t think the confrontation leading up to the play was a foul. Both players went shoulder to shoulder and the Nigerians upper body strength was too much for poor old Spahic. The two opposing players were constantly battling throughout, with Emenike coming out victorious in most of these duels. Nigeria were pretty physical all the same though. I can imagine the Bosnian players had a few knocks and bruises after this encounter. The Argentinians look a little light compared to the Nigerians, so it looks like the referee might be a bit busy today.

It will be tough for Nigeria but If they can somehow contain Messi they can get a result. And if they attack high up the pitch they can score. All they need is a draw, but if they are a little adventurous they could even snatch a win, why not!

A more detailed review on Argentina here and on Nigeria here

Argentina and Nigeria played out a 3-2 goal fest that saw both Messi and Musa score twice, and also saw the the two teams qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup. Messi scored with a smart goal after about 2 minutes, Nigeria’s Musa following up very quickly after with a brilliant curler from outside the box, that gave Romero no chance. One a piece with about five minutes gone in the clock. Wow, that’s fast!

Although Nigeria only needed a draw from the game to be assured of qualification, they still pressed up the pitch and took on the might of Argentina. The Iran game has shown that this Argentina can be brittle at the back. The Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi got his tactics spot on. His team defended in numbers, broke with pace when needed and basically neutered Argentina. Argentina found it very difficult to get past the very physical Nigerian defence with Onazi catching the eye today. Ambrose was also another player I thought played well, breaking from defence, and creating many good attacking opportunities on the wing. And if you do beat that defence then you also have to score something exceptional to get past the might of Vincent Enyeama in goals. He has had an excellent World Cup so far, a very good shot stopper, strong in the air, and commanding his back line with efficiency. I heard him a few times, clearly shouting to the defenders in front of him, organising and maintaining discipline. Brilliant. Having said all that, Nigeria still let in three goals. But to be fair to them, Messi stepped up for Argentina again, scoring two brilliant goals, and the third Argentinian goal was a bit unlucky, a goal scored off a knee in a crowded box.

Messi, got on the score sheet again, making it 2-1 before the break with a 25-yard free-kick. Just moments earlier he had a very similar opportunity from a free kick that Enyeama did well to push around the crossbar. This time there was no reprieve as Messi curled it around the wall and scored. Some have said that the goalkeeper could have caught it, but if you look at the speed at which the ball dipped once it went around the wall, I think the Nigerian had no chance. It was an expertly taken free kick, deceptively fast.

Normal service restored, or so we thought, but once again Musa equalised. Just two minutes after the break, Musa grabbed his second after bursting through the centre of the Argentine defence to score with another well taken goal. The Argentina defence cut open once again, relatively easy.

But once again, three minutes after that goal, Marcos Rojo got on the score sheet, scoring his first ever goal for his country, to get another Argentina goal and the winner, knocking in a corner with his big knee.

Messi was taken off, probably to preserve him from a few of the hefty challenges that were flying around. But it was interesting to see how Argentina played without their star player. To be fair they didnt play that bad, but it should also be noted they didn’t score. They clearly are a one man team. It says a lot when a defender had to get up to score the winner today. Agüero and Higuaín not at the races at all. Some commentators have said that Higuaín plays better when Messi is not on the pitch. That is a load of codswallop. The best player playing beside you, and you play worse! F.O

Some of the Argentina team played a little better today. Di maria was much more livelier and was creating many opportunities from midfield. A much better performance. Zabaleta, also put in a good shift, stopping a few certain goals with some last ditch tackling. Pity the few around him in Argentinian shirts didn’t play as well. Mascherano was playing, but I wouldn’t have guessed as I barely heard his name mentioned. First time I heard his name mentioned in three games, wow. That’s some skill to hide on such a big pitch!

So Argentina go onto the next round, with nine points, three wins from three games, topping their group. That doesn’t hide over the cracks in their defence, and that without Messi they are an average team at best. They take on Switzerland in a game that might be a bit tricky for a while until Messi pops up to get them through again.

Nigeria, also qualified, despite losing, and will now face France in the last 16 in a very intriguing tie. France are good in this World Cup, but Nigeria will be a stern test for them. Nigeria, strong at the back and can score on the break, will be a match for the free scoring French team. This is a game I am looking forward to seeing. Let the battle commence.

Music to get you in the mood

Gotan Project V Dola Billz