Argentina vs Nigeria: 3 reasons why Argentina won

Argentina went into their match vs Nigeria knowing that nothing less than a win was going to help them
get into the knockout stages of FIFA World Cup. Messi’s goal gave them the lead and they went into the
break with everything in their favour.
However, a clumsy foul by Mascherano early in the 2nd half gave Nigeria a penalty. Chelsea’s Victor
Moses stepped up and scored with ease. It was back to square one for the South American side.
Nigeria were in the driver’s seat now as they knew that a draw was enough for them to go through. They
were sitting back and waiting for the counter, knowing that their attackers had the pace to run past
the Argentine defenders with ease.
It looked like it was going to be yet another embarrassing night for Argentine when Higuain missed a
chance late in the 2nd half but the 2 time World champions were saved by an unlikely hero.
Gabriel Mercado put in a delicious cross and Marcos Rojo slotted it into the bottom corner with a
volley! The crazy end to the game put Argentina into the next round and sent Nigeria home.

#3 Change in formation of the team
Jorge Sampaoli was questioned a lot by the vociferous fans for the side’s humiliating defeat at the
hands of Croatia. The former Sevilla manager had a lot to do before the game and putting out the right
team was the main thing.
Going in with a 4-3-3 formation, Sampaoli decided to drop Willy Caballero, Sergio Aguero, Maximiliano
Meza, Marcos Acuna and Eduardo Salvio. In their place, Franco Armani, Gonzalo Higuain, Marcos Rojo,
Ever Banega and Angel di Maria started.
The changes were brilliant and it was shown on the pitch from the start. They were giving the Nigerian
defenders a tough time and Messi was playing at his best. There was nothing the African side could do
in the first half and if it wasn’t for the penalty, they might not have managed to score at all.

#2 Ever Banega – The Engine

Starting Ever Banega in the midfield with Mascherano was the best decision Sampoli has taken in this
World Cup. The Sevilla star was running the show in the midfield and the added boost was helping the
attackers a lot.
He was finding Messi, Higuain and Di Maria with his chipped through balls and defence-splitting passes
with ease – something that was missing in both the previous games. His brilliant ball to Messi over the
Nigerian defence turned into an assist as the Barcelona star gave them the lead.
He was contributing defensively as well and making some crunch tackles. The one sliding tackle he made
on Ahmed Musa inside the penalty box will be remembered by the Argentine fans forever because if it
wasn’t for that, Nigeria might have taken the lead.

#1 Javier Mascherano – The Warrior

Punched. Kicked. Scratched. Wounded. Javier Mascherano was bleeding from his right cheek for the
majority of the second half. It was surprising to see the referee not asking him to go off the pitch
and get it cleaned and covered.

Despite all that, Mascherano was on top of his game. He was everywhere for Argentina and was the
commander-in-chief on the pitch. From aligning the defence to shouting at his players to go wide, he
was playing the captain’s role with the armband.

The warrior was up and down the pitch during the second half and was dominating the midfield. Without
his work, Ever Banega wouldn’t have had the freedom he got and nor would have Argentina dominated the
game.