By Emmanuel Ebimoh
It was arguably the best of the Nigerian Super Eagles in a very long time. After the disappointing loss to Croatia last Saturday, many football pundits didn’t give the African team a chance when they met Iceland at the Volgograd Arena in their Group D World Cup showdown. But for the Super Eagles, they had only one thing in mind – victory. And they did it in the most exhilarating style, to the jubilation of African fans all over the world.
The match started rather shaky as both teams struggled to find a firm grip of possession. Iceland however got the first glance on goal with a few attempts but not enough to trouble Nigeria’s young goalkeeper, Francis Uzoho. At the end of the first half, though the Nigeria team had the highest percentage of ball possession, they still struggled to find a target on goal. But all that was going to change in the second half.
Whatever the Nigerian coach, Gernot Rohr, told his players at half time must have light up a spark in their heels as the Super Eagles of Nigeria came out blazingly smoking for the second half. First, the German tactician brought in young right full-back, Tyronne Ebuehi for the Russian-born Bryan Idowu. The substitution, which was done at half time, seemed to change the complexity of the game, and in less than 5 minutes into the second half, the Super Eagles drew the first blood. A devastating counter-attack found Victor Moses free on the right. The Nigerian danger man sprinted through and gave a tantalizing ball to Ahmed Musa who, with so much to do in the box, controlled the ball superbly with his right foot and struck and unstoppable shot pass goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson. It was the perfect start the African team needed after the break.
The goal sent Iceland into shambles as the Super Eagles kept sending strings of attack into the Icelandic half. Few minutes later, after a series of one-two passes, Wilfred Ndidi found space outside the edge of the Icelandic box and gave a thunderous shot which needed the full stretch of Halldorsson to prevent a goal. But it was only a matter of time before the Super Eagles put the game beyond their opponent. 75 minutes into the game, Kenneth Omeruo threw a long pass to Ahmed Musa who ran freely across an Icelandic defender, rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home into an open net. It was Nigeria 2 – Iceland 0.
With only 15 minutes to go, the job was almost done for the Nigerian team. Although Iceland got a late penalty, play-maker, Gylfi Sigurdsson blasted the ball over the bar. In the end, it was an emphatic, electrifying, and exhilarating victory for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. They now have 3 points, seating behind Croatia who have 6 points. They play Argentina in their last match of the group for a spot in the second round of the World Cup.
Emmanuel Ebimoh is a Writer, Blogger, and Social Media Strategist. You can find him on Facebook and LinkedIn as Emmanuel Ebimoh. Email: [email protected]
