Nigeria beats Iceland by 2 goal

Ahmed Musa scored a brace in the second half to take Nigeria to second in the Group D standings

Nigeria beat Iceland 2-0 : Ahmed Musa scored a brace in the second half to take Nigeria to second in the Group D standings, behind already qualified Croatia. After a goalless first half, Musa gave the African nation the lead with counter-attacking goal early in the 49th minute and increased the lead with a brilliant solo goal in the 75th minute. It was a forgettable day for Iceland, and a missed penalty by Gylfi Sigurdsson added more misery for them. The result gave Lionel Messi-led Argentina too as they are very much in contention for the knock-outs now.

• 97' - Ibowi's shot was blocked inside the Iceland box
• 94' - Two Nigerian players on the ground. John Obi Mikel looked in pain and is taken off the ground
• 90' - Six minutes added as stoppage time
• 90' - Substitution! Oghenekaro Etebo is replaced by Alex Iwobi fro Nigeria
• 87' - Substitution! Third and final change for Iceland. Captain Aron Gunnarsson is replaced by Ari Freyr Skulason
• 85' - Substitution! Kelechi Iheanacho is replaced Odion Ighalo for Nigeria
• 84' - Kelechi Iheanacho shot it wide from outside the Iceland box
• 83' - Penalty Missed! Gylfi Sigurdsson shot it over the Nigerian crossbar. Missed chance
• 81' - PENALTY for Iceland. It was a controversial decision
• 80' - VAR used to check penalty for Iceland. The ref reversed the decision and pointed towards the spot-kick
• 75' - GOAL! Ahmed Musa scored again to double the lead
• After hitting the bar a minute ago, Musa scored his second to double the Nigeria lead. A brilliant solo goal by Musa, who dodged a defender as well as the goalkeeper, before unleashing another thunderous strike.
• 74' - UNLUCKY! Ahmed Musa 's effort from outside the box hit the Iceland bar.
• 72' - Corner for Nigeria. Leon Balogun jumped high, but he headed it over the crossbar
• 71' -Substitution! Another change for Iceland. Jon Bodvarsson is replaced by Bjorn Sigurdarson
• 68' - Rurik Gislason shot it well over the Nigeria crossbar from the top of box
• 66' - Victor Moses shot from the right side of Iceland penalty box went over the crossbar
• 65' - Substitution! Ragnar Sigurdsson is replaced by Sverrir Ingi Ingason for Iceland
• 63' - Free-kick for Iceland. Gylfi Sigurdsson's shot was too close to Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, who collected it calmly
• 59' - Corner for Iceland. Gylfi Sigurdsson with the delivery, Victor Moses headed it out. Good clearance
• 57' - SAVE! Wilfred Ndidi tried it from outside the box. The ball took Iceland defender's foot, but still required Iceland goalkeeper to palm it out. The resultant corner yielded nothing for Nigeria
• 56' - Gylfi Sigurdsson shouted a hand ball inside the Nigerian box, but ref thought otherwise. Ball hit the hand of Nigeria defender, but it was unintentional
• 54' - Long injury break after the goal. Iceland defender Ragnar Sigurdsson required a medical attention on the pitch
• 49' - GOAL! Ahmed Musa out Nigeria in the lead

A brilliant counter attacking goal by Nigeria. Musa started the run in their own half, and Victor Moses cross-in brilliantly, from the right flank, for Musa inside Iceland box. Musa controlled it down with a perfect first-touch before unleashing a thunderous strike from close range.

Second half begins...

HT - It's still goalless in the important Group D match
Strong finish from Iceland. They have created couple of good chances in the stoppage time of the first half. Nigeria have dominated the possession, but they have failed to register a single shot on target so far.

• 47' - Corner for Iceland. Free header for Jon Bodvarsson, but headed it wide of the Nigerian goal
• 45' - Two minutes added as stoppage time
• 45' - Free-kick for Iceland. Good cross-in inside the Nigeria penalty box, but found no one to tap in. Missed chance for Iceland
• 44' - Yellow Card! First booking of the match to Nigeria's Bryan Idowu
• 43' - Corner for Nigeria after Victor Moses' shot was deflected out. Delivery from the set-piece was long and it's a goal kick for Iceland
• 41' - Nigeria's Ahmed Musa caught offside near the middle of the pitch
• 38' - Free-kick for Nigeria from a dangerous position. Cleared by Iceland defender through a header. The resultant long throw-in failed to make an impact for Nigeria
• 36' - Long throw-in from the edge of Nigeria penalty box. Comfortably cleared out by Nigeria defenders
• 34' - Birkir Bjarnason shot it over the Nigeria crossbar from close range
• 28' - Nigeria are winning the possession game, but finding it tough to move in the Iceland box
• 22' - Uzoho charged out and punched it. The ball deflected off Nigerian defender. Another corner for Iceland. Comfortable clearance from Nigerian defender
• 20' - Now Iceland won a throw-in on the edge of Nigeria penalty box. Long throw-in, Uzoho punched it out of the box. Corner for Iceland
• 17' - Nigerian throw-in inside the Iceland final third. Couple of Nigeria attack inside Iceland box in the last few minutes, but yet to get a clear shot on goal
• 14' - The game has slowed down a bit. No incursion into the final third at either ends for the last few minutes.
• 7' - First corner for Nigeria. Headed out by Iceland defender without much trouble. Ball still in Iceland final third though
• 6' - Another good chance for Gylfi Sigurdsson, just outside the Nigeria box, but the striker shot it close to Uzoho. Easy save for the Nigerian goalkeeper
• 3' - The resultant corner for Iceland was comfortably cleared by Nigeria
• 2' - Free-kick for Iceland early in the game. Good kick from Iceland No. 10 Gylfi Sigurdsson and a diving save from Nigerian goalkeeper Francis Uzoho

Here we go... KICK-OFF TIME

It's an important match in Group D as the result will have repercussion on the chances of pre-tournament title favourites Argentina.

*Time for National Anthems*

Starting line-ups

Nigeria: Francis Uzoho, Bryan Idowu, Wilfred Ndidi, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Ahmed Musa, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Obi Mikel (capt), Victor Moses, Kelechi Iheanacho, Kenneth Omeruo. Coach: Gernot Rohr (GER)

Iceland: Hannes Halldorsson, Birkir Saevarsson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Birkir Bjarnason, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alfred Finnbogason, Kari Arnason, Aron Gunnarsson (capt), Hordur Magnusson, Rurik Gislason, Jon Bodvarsson. Coach: Heimir Hallgrimsson (ISL)

Referee: Matt Conger (NZL)

Source: TOI