Nigeria Super Eagles soar in Russia over Iceland
Nigeria register their first win at the World Cup and second win by an African Nation in Russia, crushing Iceland 2-0 in an evenly matched second group D encounter at the Volgograd Arena.
Iceland, who were looking to bounce back from a draw with an out of form Argentinean side, were the first to register a shot at goal through a Gylfi Sigurdsson free kick in the 3rd minute.
The Super Eagles looking dull and prosaic in the first half, lacking dynamism and creativity offensively, went into the late stages of the first half in charge of possession but failing to even register a shot on target.
The teams went into the half time break deadlocked at 0-0, with both sides producing a less than productive and dull encounter.
The Nigerians did however find their feet early in the second half with only their first shot on target with an Ahmed Musa goal, after a delightful strike from the CSKA Moscow forward.
The Super Eagles came close to extending the lead in the 73rd minute with a superb curler from Musa which only managed to hit the post, but perseverance paid off for the Moscow player only a minute later when he managed to stretch Nigeria’s lead with a second goal.
The Europeans were themselves to blame for failing to score a gifted penalty when Everton’s Gylfi Siggurdon’s shot went wayward of target
Nigeria now with 3 points and are 2nd in group D, while Iceland with a single point are 3rd on goal difference.