World Cup Update: Nigeria Soar in Second Half

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The Silver Eagles of Nigeria had their dangerous counter-attack quelled substantially in the first half of their match with Iceland on Thursday in Group D at the World Cup. The tiny European nation was able to control the tempo, playing at a methodical, determined pace, and was able to affectively thwart any potential counter opportunities by breaking up the flow of the Nigerian possession. It was a gritty effort by the Icelanders for the first 45' that produced plenty of efforts of their own, but none that found goal. Nigeria went into the locker room having never really put together any serious chances to challenge Halldorsson.

The second half was a different story, however, as Nigeria got off and running with their first counter-opportunity after intermission. Iceland was forward for a free kick, and only had two men back, and Nigeria was able to find Moses up the right side with plenty of green space out in front of him and Nigeria were off and running with their patented quick-counter attack. Moses worked it up the pitch and sent a cross into the box for Ahmed Musa, who used a superb touch to control it mid-air and then fired one home after a bounce off the turf. It was a thunderbolt of a strike from inside the box and was an enthusiastic introduction to the 2018 competition for Nigeria after being held to a 2-0 defeat in their opener with Croatia.

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Iceland were not devoid of opportunities as the match wore on and continued to build toward an equalizer. They were on the attack once again in the Nigeria back third when a second touch was won by the Nigerians and Omeruo sent a wishful long-ball up the left side, as Musa was able to track it down with a furry of a run. He beat the defender for pace, and then cut inside and used a nice touch to round past the charging Halldorsson. He kept his composure, picked his spot and rifled it home as all two Iceland defenders could do were make sliding attempts to deflect the shot to no avail. Musa's second of the night sent the Silver Eagles soaring as their confidence seemed to be growing by the minute.

Iceland received hope in the 81' when an apparent penalty by Nigeria went to VAR. The referee indicated the spot (and rightfully so) for Iceland as the Nigeria player made foolish contract in the box along the out-line for an obvious foul. Sigurosson stepped up to the spot in the 83', attempting to inject life back into Iceland, but his attempt was too firm and sailed over the crossbar as Uzoho wasn't threatened. It was a costly missed-opportunity for 'Strákarnir okkar' and left Iceland with too much work to do in the closing minutes of the match.

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Once Nigeria got their spacing down in their 3-5-2 setup, they settled in and started playing to their potential. Their athleticism and quickness in their counterattack came through in the second half as Iceland struggled with both. The Icelanders still had their opportunities, but in the end, couldn't find the net as Uzoho got a his much-earned clean sheet and the Silver Eagles now control their destiny heading into the final matches of the group stage. The victory is exactly the kind of outcome that Argentina needed, as they are still alive, and will need to defeat Nigeria in their final group match. A victory by itself won't guarantee progression for Argentina, and a draw wouldn't necessarily guarantee the same for the Nigerians. However, the African nation now holds the cards and controls their destiny as a victory over Lionel Messi and company would assure that Nigeria progressed to the knockout round. Iceland is still alive, but will need to defeat Croatia (a mighty tall task) in their final group match, and then hope for the outcome and score to fall in-line for the Nigeria-Argentina match.