Nigeria’s victory gives Argentina hope
Ahmed Musa gave Nigeria its first win at this year’s World Cup — and gave Argentina a gift.
Musa scored two second-half goals to help the Nigerians beat Iceland, 2-0, Friday in Volgograd, Russia, and move into second place in the group behind already-qualified Croatia.
Nigeria will face Argentina in its final group match Tuesday in St. Petersburg. If Nigeria wins, it will advance to the round of 16. But if Argentina claims all three points, it can still advance depending on the result of the other match between Croatia and Iceland.
Musa, Nigeria’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with four goals, has played well against Argentina before. His two previous goals came at the 2014 tournament in Brazil in a group match against the two-time champions.
“It’s possible I’m going to score another two goals,” the 25-year-old Musa said.
On Friday, Musa gave Nigeria the lead in the 49th minute after Victor Moses sprinted deep into the Iceland half and curled a cross to the near post. Musa deftly controlled the ball before slamming it past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson on the half-volley.
Nigeria nearly doubled its lead on several occasions, but Musa made it happen in the 75th minute. He picked up the ball on the left side of the Iceland penalty area, mazed his way past Halldorsson and picked his spot in the Iceland goal.
“I think the control made it more perfect for me,” said Musa, who hinted he wants to leave Premier League club Leicester and play for CSKA Moscow.
Nigeria nearly added to its lead on several occasions, including when Musa hit the crossbar with a curling shot.
Iceland, the smallest nation ever to compete in the World Cup, was not as effective as it had been against Argentina when it earned a surprise 1-1 draw.
Still, the European champion quarterfinalists had a chance to get one back, but Gylfi Sigurdsson sent a penalty kick over the Nigeria bar in the 83rd minute.
Brazil 2, Costa Rica 0: After more than 90 minutes of aggravation and exasperation in St. Petersburg, Neymar and Brazil finally broke through Costa Rica’s smothering defense.
Philippe Coutinho scored in the first minute of stoppage time, and Neymar followed six minutes later to lift Brazil over Costa Rica.
Unlike Argentina and Lionel Messi, Brazil is still in a good position to advance to the round of 16. Costa Rica has been eliminated.
“The responsibility is huge when you are playing for the national team,” Coutinho said through an interpreter. “You have to be mentally strong from the beginning until the end. We fought until the end and we were rewarded.”
Neymar dropped to his knees after the final whistle, sobbing in his hands as his teammates surrounded him and then lifted him off the ground.
“We know he had a difficult injury, he went through a very bad patch,” Coutinho said, referring to Neymar breaking a bone in his right foot four months ago. “But his joy at being on the pitch is contagious.”
Neymar seemed panicked for most of the second half as his shots sailed over the bar or simply missed the mark, and he complained over nearly every call. In danger of ending in a draw, Brazil seemed nervous but composed itself during injury time.
Switzerland 2, Serbia 0: Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri scored in Switzerland’s victory in Kaliningrad, and both celebrated by making a nationalist symbol to their ethnic Albanian heritage.
In the tournament’s first comefrom-behind victory, Xhaka made it 1-1 in the 52nd minute with a powerful shot through a crowded penalty. Shaqiri added the other in injury time after running past the Serbian defense.
Both put their open hands together with their thumbs locked and fingers outstretched to make what looks like the double-headed eagle displayed on Albania’s national flag. The thumbs represent the heads of the two eagles, while the fingers look like the feathers.
The gesture is likely to inflame tensions among Serb nationalists and ethnic Albanians.
The win puts Switzerland into second place in Group E with four points, the same as Brazil. The Swiss will advance to the round of 16 if they beat Costa Rica on Wednesday in Nizhny Novgorod. Serbia will face Brazil in Moscow at the same time.