The Nigerians are in a must-win position after taking a loss at the hands of Luka Modrić and Croatia on Friday. They are going to need at least a point to keep their chances of staying in the hunt for a ticket to the knockout stages when they take on the Iceland. Read on for a preview of this intriguing matchup between two sleepers in Group D below.
The Nigerians showed some ability to cripple the offense of a talented Croatian team in the opener, but just could not sustain it in a 2-0 loss to the Croats. That and the Super Eagles’ lack of creativity on their own attacks doomed them in the match. Nigeria had 14 shot attempts but only had two that went on-target. Also worth noting was Nigeria’s own goal that certainly didn’t help the team in any form or manner. Victor Moses was the only one from the Nigerian side who made something that resembles of a chance up front for his team, but the Super Eagles can’t let him do all the work. Gernot Roh will sure have some modifications to make ahead of the match against Iceland, who did a magnificent job of preventing Argentina’s offense from fully taking flight.
Betting on Iceland (+153)
Despite drawing with Argentina, 1-1, in the opening match on Saturday, Iceland earned plenty of respect for the way they were able to handle Argentina’s deadly attack for most of the contest. Lionel Messi took 11 shots in that match but did not score. The Nigerians do not have Messi nor did they show any zip on their attack in the loss to Croatia to rattle future opponents, so good luck to them striking fear down Iceland players’ spines. Iceland could also be changing their strategy against Nigeria. After playing deep and very conservative on defense in the Argentina match, Iceland may try to be a bit more adventurous next time around, considering the smaller stature of their next opponent compared to Messi and company.
