Matchplug

Nigeria are only the second team to beat Iceland in a competitive fixture when the Super Eagles defeated the Islanders 2-0 in their last game. Iceland’s qualification for the World Cup was as surprising as their run-up to the quarterfinals of  Euro 2016 where they beat England along the way.

They drew 1-1 against Argentina in their very first game of Russia 2018, a match that they even saved a Lionel Messi penalty. Their 2-0 loss to Nigeria would have affected their confidence a little, but they beat Croatia on their way to the World Cup and with the Croatians looking to rest players for the next round they could win here and hope that Argentina draws against Nigeria.

Croatia have qualified for the next round as Group leaders already except Nigeria beats Argentina by 4 goals and they lose to Iceland, which is very unlikely. The Croatians started their campaign with a fortunate 2-0 win over an inexperienced Nigeria side.

Their game against Argentina was where they turned on the style, beating the South Americans 3-0. They can now afford to rest players ahead of the Round of 16. This game, however, would be a tough one for them as they have already lost to Iceland in the World Cup qualifiers, would they allow themselves to be beaten twice by the same team?

Nigeria started their campaign so poorly they were expected to be packing their bags home before this game even kicked off. However, credit to the Super Eagles who showed more hunger in their very next game against Iceland to record a 2-0 win.

The Super Eagles had been beaten 2-0 by Croatia in their opening match. Most of their attacking players were off duty that day and they conceded an own goal as well as a penalty. But against Iceland, they put up a fight that stunned the tiny island nation, and they would look to get at least a point in this game so they can progress.

Argentina have been plunged into crisis after their poor start to the World Cup. They drew 1-1 against Iceland in their first game before being thumped 3-0 by Croatia in their next match. Nigeria’s win over Iceland has given them hope of making the next round, however, they have not always found it easy to beat the Super Eagles.

They have met each other in the last four consecutive World Cups, with the Argentines winning each of those matches, but Nigeria won 4-2 the last time they met in a friendly game.

Australia were expected to have exited the World Cup by now when the draws were made, but the Socceroos have surprised us all, can they make it to the next round with a win here?

They lost their first game 2-1 to France thanks in part to an unfortunate own goal in the 80th minute having battled back from going a goal down. Their second game against Denmark was an improvement from the first as they came from an early goal down again to draw 1-1. Both of their goals have been penalties, but what they lack is scoring goals from the open, they more than make up for it is their character.

Peru’s first World Cup in over 30 years has been an unlucky one. In their first game they outplayed Denmark, missed a penalty and had 17 attempts at goal, but could not score a single goal only to lose the game 1-0. Their very next game saw them come up against France and they still lost the game rather harshly, 1-0.

They would have packed their bags by the time they step on to the field for this game, however, ending this competition with a goal and a win would be a fitting way to bow out.

There were fears that Germany would become the next defending champion to exit the World Cup at the group stage when they were struggling in their warm-up games, but their 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia seems to have made everyone think they are back to form.

However, their first game against Mexico ended in the defending champions losing 1-0 to the North Americans. Germany’s defence was surprisingly vulnerable and every time their full-backs ventured forward, Mexico hit them on the break until they eventually breached the Germans.

The Germans face another stubborn team in Sweden and it would be interesting to see if they can improve their current run of one win in seven games.

Sweden beat Italy in the playoffs to reach Russia 2018, and they have started on a bright note by beating South Korea 1-0. They would be facing a tougher opponent in Germany, but the Swedes are a very strong side to break down and if Germany’s defence does not improve, the Scandinavians may kill them off on the counter in this game.

Sweden has just lost twice in their last nine games, and with Germany struggling for form, the Swedes could hold their own and get a point from this match.

South Korea were the talk of the world 16 years ago when the co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. They reached the semifinal stage of that competition as the surprise package, but their football has never reached that height again.

They lost their first game against Sweden 1-0, but to be honest the Swedes could have scored more goals if they were an attacking team because the Koreans never came to the party and had just 2 shots at goal.

Son Heung-Min who has starred for Tottenham over the past few seasons was ineffectual in that game and they have lost three of their last four games ahead of this match.

Mexico faced defending World champions Germany in their first game, while many expected that game to be a tight affair no one thought the German defence would be that terrible.

The North Americans took the game to Germany from the get-go and forced the German defence to crack. When Havier Hernandez laid on an assist for Hirving Lozano, it was time for them to take the lead and they did. Germany did try to get in the game, but they couldn’t and Mexico would be looking to build on that win here.