The favourites Argentina and African Super Eagles Nigeria were at 2-1 at the half time at the Estadio Beira-Rio Porto Alrgra in Brazil on Wednesday.Majestic Lionel Messi put his team ahead when a ball came to him after a De Maria shot was blocked by Nigerian goalie Enyeama and Messi’s shot found the net in the 3rd minute of the play.Argentina’s joy was short-lived when Ahmed Musa equalised the margin by a spectacular angular shot just after one minute.Later, Argentina bounced back again as Messi scored another in the injury time of the first half.Nigeria need to avoid defeat against Argentina to guarantee a place in the next round.Argentina have already booked their spot in the last 16 after winning their opening two matches and only require a draw to win the group, which would most likely mean they avoid France and instead face the Group E runners-up in Sao Paulo next Tuesday.Nigeria have four points from their first two matches and even if they lose in Porto Alegre they will still progress to the next round if Iran fail to beat Bosnia.Alejandro Sabella’s side will be looking for more than a point, though, having failed to shine in either of their games so far and been made to work for a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and 1-0 success against Iran.On both occasions they have been thankful to moments of magic from Lionel Messi, who followed up his stunning goal against Bosnia with the last-minute winner to see off Iran.Both sides have faced each other three times at the World Cup where Argentina won every match.Argentina striker Lionel Messi scored his third World Cup goal last week. The Barcelona star failed to score a single goal in five matches at the last competition.The Albiceleste have won 11 of their last 14 World Cup group stage matches and lost only one.Nigeria’s win against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week marked the nation’s first World Cup victory since 1998. In between, the Super Eagles lost six of their last nine matches.
