On June 21, Cuiaba hosted the decisive match for the teams of Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second round of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Both teams in the first matches showed not the best result: Nigeria drew, and Bosnia lost. Therefore, the game in Cuiaba was decisive for them in terms of the struggle to reach the next stage of the tournament.
The Nigerians and Bosnians had the opportunity, after winning the match between themselves, to score the first three points in the tournament, which would have retained their hopes of reaching the next stage of the World Cup. The game did not start at the fastest pace. It should be noted that the city of Cuiaba is the hottest of all the cities hosting the World Cup matches in Brazil. However, most likely, the heat did not affect the lack of a stunning pace. The game was very important, so the teams tried to play with an eye to their own goal, eliminating mistakes.
On 20 minutes of the meeting, the Bosnians score a goal. Dzeko, having received a wonderful pass from the depth of field, burst into the penalty area and hit the goal. However, the line referee raised the flag, calling for an offside position. The replay clearly showed that the judge from New Zealand made a gross mistake. In fact, he took a clean goal from the Bosnians.
Bosnia's fans hoped that justice would prevail in the game. However, this did not happen. On the 29th minute, Peter Odemwingie hit the gate after a pass to Eminika. The latter rammed the left flank of the Bosnian defense and gave a pass to Peter, who sent the ball between the legs of the Bosnian goalkeeper. The first half ended with a minimal advantage of the Africans.
After the break, Bosnia's players tried to grope their way to the gate of the Nigerians. However, the Europeans did not succeed in attacking actions. The players of Nigeria themselves were able to create a dangerous scoring chance in the middle of the second half. Bosnia was rescued by the goalkeeper, moreover, twice. First, Begovic deflected a dangerous blow, and then, in the continuation of the attack of the Africans, nullified the exit to the goal of the Nigerian striker.
The Europeans missed the most realistic chance to win back in the last seconds of the match. In the final attack, Edin Dzeko got the opportunity from the most advantageous situation to break through on goal from the aisles of the penalty area of Nigeria. However, the goalkeeper saved the Africans, and then the goalpost.
The final score of 1 - 0 in favor of Nigeria sends the Bosnians to pack their bags, and the Africans have a good chance of making it out of Group F.
