Nigeria and Argentina wrap up the group D games of the 2018 World Cup on June 26th at 2pm Eastern time. These two countries have somewhat of a rivalry at the World Cup, as they have been placed in the same group for the last three tournaments and five times overall. Argentina has won all of the matches up to this point. While they are also expected to win again this year, according to our World Cup Betting site, they also have not impressed so far at the World Cup. Even if they overcome their internal hurdles, Nigeria is a young, fast squad with Premier League talent that could take advantage of an Argentine team that seems to be in a state of turmoil.
Nigeria
Nigeria got off to a bad start in their first game, falling to Croatia 2-0. They bounced back in their second game with a convincing 2-0 win against Iceland, setting them up to advance should they get a win or a tie against Argentina. Ahmed Musa has scored both of Nigeria's goals, and he is just one of an up and coming group of young talents that are eager to advance and display their abilities on the world stage. Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, and Kelechi Iheanacho all play in the Premier League and all are under 23 years old. Add Chelsea's Victor Moses to the mix and you have yourself a dangerous offence. Nigeria also made it to the round of 16 in the 94 and 98 World Cup tournaments, but have never advanced past that stage.
Argentina
Argentina comes into this game with about as much drama as a Latin soap opera; after a tragic tie with Iceland and a crushing 3-0 loss to Croatia, the 2014 World Cup runners'-up are on the verge of elimination. They are only alive thanks to Nigeria's win over Iceland last week, and now need a win in this game and a win by Croatia against Iceland to advance. To further complicate the situation, there have been several reports that the team is unhappy with Manager Jorge Sampaoli and that the players have turned against him. Both Sampaoli and former Captain Javier Mascherano have denied this, however. Even worse, Star Leo Messi has said that if this tournament does not go well, it could be his last playing for the Abiceleste. To date, Messi has been unable to win a major tournament with Argentina, coming in second in not only the World Cup but in two Copa America Tournaments and the frustration has gotten too much for him.
Match Overview
The final result of this game will depend on what version of Argentina shows up for this game. If it is the disjointed, flailing team that we saw in the first two games, then Nigeria has a good chance at finally achieving victory. If Argentina comes to the field with cohesiveness behind a determined Leo Messi, than there is no reason La Albiceleste shouldn't win. Still, Nigeria was able to win a friendly match 4-2 against Argentina in November last year, so an upset is not completely out of the question.
