We return to Group D for the second match of the three in the World Cup on Friday but it is no less important than the other two as Iceland take on Nigeria in a win or die tussle between the two lowest ranked sides in the group in Volvograd.
Iceland take the advantage into the contest with them given that they have already played Argentina, maybe not the best side in the group but the most feared one, and got a point from it. Nigeria were beaten by Croatia so they know if they lose here they are out.
Nigeria
It was hard to believe how poor Nigeria were in their opening match against Croatia in their first match. Having built up a swell of support with their jazzy kit they might well have thrown it all away by being useless in their first game. They were timid defensively and they never existed as an attacking unit at any stage.
If you watched England’s friendly with Nigeria then the poor performance of the Africans may not have been a surprise but at this level in a group where they could not afford to be off it at any stage it was badly timed. We should expect them to be better here though, if for no other reason than they can’t be any worse. They hope.
Iceland
The Euro2016 surprise packages are at it again. Most people, myself included, expected them to be opened up at will by Argentina in their opening match. Some were expecting them to be outclassed but they weren’t. They gave as good as they got in the first half of the match and when the result they wanted was achievable they remained compact and got the point they craved.
Despite them defending deep in the second half of that match, that isn’t always how Iceland play these days. In fact, they often take the game to their opposition to the detriment of their defensive play and now that they are playing opponents much more to their level on paper, it will be interesting to see how imaginative and advanced they get.
Team News
Nigeria vice-captain Ogenyi Onazi was dropped for the Croatia game but with changes having to be made he could come back into the side here. Ahmed Musa was on the bench against Croatia and he could be handed a start.
Iceland could be without Burnley star Johann Berg Gudmundsson after the winger sustained an injury against Argentina. Should he fail to make it Rurik Gislason could come into the side having replaced him in that match.
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Betting
I’m expecting Nigeria to be much better in this match, if for no other reason than they couldn’t be any worse, but whether they will be good enough to get anything from this one I’m less convinced. To be fair Iceland gave as good as they got against Argentina although in fairness that form was hardly franked on Thursday night.
For a World Cup debut though Iceland played well and the one thing they did do was show enough in attacking positions in that first half to suggest they can find the back of the net in this one. I’m less convinced by Nigeria’s attacking abilities especially should they concede the first goal and face the Icelandic brick wall. I’m with Iceland to land their first World Cup victory here.
Tips
Back Iceland to beat Nigeria (DNB) for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
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Back Iceland to win by 1 goal for a 1/10 stake at 4.20 with Boylesports
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