Nigeria vs Iceland 22/06/18

22 June 2018

A 2-0 defeat to Croatia in the first round of Group D means Nigeria have to beat Iceland if looking to avoid elimination only after a group stage, as the two sides prepare to face off against each other at the Volgograd Arena. The World Cup debutants, Iceland, managed to hold the powerful Argentinean attack led by Leo Messi and Kun Aguero, achieving an outstanding 1-1 draw in their first ever match at the World Cup. A potential win over the Super Eagles might open the way for Iceland to repeat the same success from the EURO 2016, and advance to the knockout stage, but considering the quality the African team has within their respective ranks, it’s going to be far from easy. Nigeria’s chances of going past the group stage have dropped notably after that defeat against the Blazers, but Gernot Rohr is desperate to help his team progressing to the round of 16, and a match against the European warriors will be crucial in that pursuit.

It will be the first time in history these two sides play against each other and only the second match Iceland is going to play against some African team following a 2-2 draw with Ghana earlier this month.

Joel Obi might be the player to replace Oghenekaro Etebo who scored an own goal against Croatia and made a few sloppy mistakes in the process. On the other hand, Heimir Hallgrímsson will hardly give up on the starting line-up that played against the Albiceleste.