Argentina enter their last match of the Group Stage trying to avoid disaster. The favorites to win Group D at the beginning of the World Cup find themselves with their backs against the wall. They are sitting on just one point after their first two matches and will need a win over Nigeria and some help in order to make it out of the group. Croatia have already punched their ticket to the knockout rounds, so there is just one spot left.
The most anticipated sporting event in the world comes around once every four years, so don’t miss any of the 2018 World Cup. This match will take place at St. Petersburg Stadium in St. Petersburg at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX.
World Cup Group Stage Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Nigeria +709
Argentina -256
Draw +407
Over/Under 2.5 and 3
Recent Form
Nigeria’s second match against Iceland had yet to be played at the time this was written. Coming into that game, Nigeria was alone at the bottom of Group D after a 2-0 loss to Croatia. The Super Eagles weren’t able to get anything going on offense in the loss. On the stat sheet, they were somewhat even with Croatia, but anyone who watched the game know that Nigeria were outclassed.
As for Argentina, their play to this point has been underwhelming. They dominated the stat sheet in their win over Iceland, but the Argentines managed just one goal in the match. Lionel Messi was turned away on a penalty and other chances were missed as Argentina had 27 shots and 78 percent of the possession in the match.
Things went from bad to worse for Argentina against Croatia. Argentina was obviously frustrated after being unable to find a goal in the first half, and their frustration was very apparent after a Willy Caballero error led to a collective meltdown. Center back Nicolas Otamendi was the worst culprit with his bad behavior, but the entire team looked like it had given up.
Player to Watch
Caballero has been the worst goalkeeper at the World Cup by a country mile. Argentina’s long-time back-up goalkeeper has shown why he was always the second choice to Sergio Romero at this World Cup, making a number of errors and costing Argentina in a big way.
Argentina didn’t need him to stand on his head with so much offensive talent, they just needed Caballero to be decent. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. He looked out of sorts against Iceland, making consecutive errors to allow Iceland their lone goal and found himself in bad positions much of the match.
He was somehow even worse against Croatia though. Caballero made one of the worst mistakes you will ever see from a goalkeeper on this stage, gifting Ante Rebic a goal after a mishit. You can also say he is somewhat to blame for Croatia’s second goal as he was somewhat out of position and reacted late to Luka Modric’s shot.
It will be interesting to see how Caballero and the rest of Argentina bounce back against Nigeria.
Matchup to Watch
Nigeria’s defense did not perform well in their opening match against Croatia. Head coach Gernot Rohr attributed the loss to poor defending of set pieces, but the defense was not good in the run of play either, they just weren’t punished for it.
That should be music to the ears of the Argentinian attack. Messi and company have struggled to get going, but they should be able to have a lot more success against this defense.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
This match could mean everything or nothing to Nigeria depending on their result against Iceland on Friday. A win would put them in second place in the group, while a draw would virtually eliminate them, and a loss would definitely eliminate them. No matter what, the over seems like a good play in this match with Caballero’s poor play and Argentina needing to take out its frustration.
World Cup Group Stage Odds: Argentina 3, Nigeria 1
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