The Super Eagles last
Wednesday qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup in spite of their 2-3 loss to Argentina in their third Group F match.
The match played at the Estadio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre in Brazil saw FC Barcelona’s forward, Lionel Messi, and CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa scoring a brace each for both sides.
The result meant Nigeria ended up as runners-up in Group F with four points behind leaders Argentina who have nine points.
The match had a blistering start, with Messi crashing a first-time shot into the net’s roof from 12 yards out after Vincent Enyeama had tipped over Angel Di Maria’s initial effort.
Musa exploited a one-on-one with Pablo Zabaleta to cut inside from the left and curl an inch-perfect right-foot shot just inside the far post, to level the game.
It was not long, though, before Messi again took the centre stage.
A minute into first-half injury time, Messi who had forced a brilliant save from the goalkeeper with an earlier free-kick re-established his team’s lead from an almost-identical position.
This time, there was no chance for Enyeama, with the FC Barcelona star curling a left-foot shot from 25 yards which cleared the wall and dropped just inside the right-hand post.
But once again, Nigeria wasted little time in responding to Messi’s brilliance.
Few minutes into the second half, Musa emulated the Argentina skipper by completing a double of his own.
He raced through and wrong-footed Sergio Romero with a low shot into the bottom-left corner.
But Nigeria could not deny Argentina a third straight win as they were able to secure the three points just three minutes later.
It was the scrappiest of all five goals, with Marcos Rojo bundling a corner home with his knee.
In the other Group F match played simultaneously at the Arena Fonte Nova Salvador, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Iran could not secure a place for both teams in the next round.
Debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina finished third in Group F with three points, while Iran could only make do with one point.
The Super Eagles will now meet the winners of Group E, while Argentina will meet the group’s runners-up.