Buoyant Iceland face Nigeria challenge
NIGERIA V ICELAND
Nigeria take on Iceland on Friday, seeking to salvage their faltering World Cup campaign but wary of the Nordic team’s capacity to go toe to toe with their supposed superiors.
Coach Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles have now won just one of their past 13 games at World Cups. Nigeria reached the knockout phase at the 2014 World Cup, but slipped to a 2-0 defeat in their Group D opener against Croatia in Kaliningrad.
Their side, including 19-yearold goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, were almost unrecognisable from the team beaten by France in the last 16 four years ago.
“Sometimes we were a little bit naive on set pieces but we will work on it,” said Rohr.
Iceland are buoyant after what
GELENDZHIK:
Venue: Volgograd Arena
Live on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3, Ten 2HD, Ten 3HD & Sony ESPN, 8:30pm their coach Heimir Hallgrimsson described as a “schoolbook example” of how to defend against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
Messi complained that “Iceland didn’t want to play” but the Nordic minnows, playing in their first-ever World Cup, were unimpressed by the criticism.
“Maybe he would have been happier if we had played attacking football and lost 5-0. People can have their opinion about it but we really don’t care,” said goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.