On June 25, in the city of Porto Alegre, the final match of the Argentine national team in the group stage of the World Cup took place. The last rival of the Argentines in Quartet F was the national team of Nigeria.
The game between Nigeria and Argentina became one of the most spectacular in the world championship. The teams immediately began to show their attacking potential. Three minutes after the starting whistle, Lionel Messi opened the scoring. However, the Nigerians responded adequately at the 4th minute. Musa reckoned a goal from the South Americans. Thus, by the 4th minute of the meeting the score was already equal - 1 - 1.
After that, both teams tried to sharply attack. The Argentine national team had an advantage in possession of the ball, their attacks were formed positionally. The Nigerians tried to threaten the opponent with sharp counterattacks. However, the spectators did not see any goals until the last minutes of the first half. But in the condensed time, Messi scored a double, smartly performing a free kick. The African goalkeeper was powerless - the ball went to the gates of Nigeria for the second time in the match. The teams left for the break with Argentina's advantage 2 - 1.
After the break, the teams exchanged quick goals again. First, Musa scored his double in the match. The Nigerians in the center tore apart the South American defense, which was not acting in the best way in this match. Musa equalizes the score in the 47th minute. The numbers 2 - 2 will light up on the board.
Only a few minutes pass, and the Argentines score the third goal from a corner. Marcos Rojo in the 50th minute of the meeting again leads Argentina 3 - 2.
For about twenty minutes more, the South Americans had an advantage in possession of the ball, creating dangerous moments. But the Nigerians sharply counterattacked up to 75 minutes. Musa had a great chance to issue a hat trick, but the forward did not convert the moment.
The final fifteen minutes passed with the Nigeria lead. African footballers pressed South Americans to the penalty area. The Argentines could only counterattack. However, the active actions of the teams did not lead to another goal scored - the game ended with a minimal advantage of Argentina 3 - 2.
Both teams advance to the playoff stage of the tournament. Argentina wins three wins in three matches and leads Group F, Nigeria comes out in second place with four points. Now the teams are waiting for the start of the decisive matches of the football world championship in Brazil.
