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?
