WC-MOTD14
Day 14:-
Nigeria vs. Argentina:-
A match that was, more or less, literally defined during the first 5 minutes of each half!
There weren’t many changes from both teams’ previous games in terms of their formations or tactical set-ups. The only thing worth mentioning would be Coach Alejandro Sabella’s decision to play Messi as a pure center-forward behind the striker duo of Agüero and Higuaín (in comparison to the right-wing role from their last match); as Coach Sabella looked to fully utilize Messi’s attacking abilities.
The game saw one of the best starts to a match at the WC so far, with a goal from each team in the opening 3 minutes; as both sides still had not gotten accustomed to the tempo and rhythm of the match yet.
Nigeria were not defending as deep as was expected from them; however, Argentina were the ones in constant possession of the ball.
The Argentinians were pressing Nigeria back into their own half, going at their defense from all sides of the pitch; a tactic further aided by Nigeria’s continued disability of holding onto possession for long enough to get themselves out of such a situation and build something forward.
The game’s tempo began to drop significantly as time passed by; as Argentina were too slow in creating chances from open play and sometimes deliberately subduing their own pace in a feeble attempt to use the increased possession they were enjoying to literally pass their way through Nigeria’s defense.
It was a rather poor tactic; as Argentina were unable to create any real chances from open play and ended up constantly wasting possession in crucial areas, further diminishing their urgency in attack. The Nigerians were defending well but were too static in their forward play; barely offering anything of notice up-front.
The half came to an end shortly after Messi’s efficient free-kick-goal, onto which, for some reason, Enyeama decided not to pounce; even though he was moving with the correct pace in the correct direction!
In summation, it wasn’t such a great first half by any standards from either side. Argentina put in an insipid display of football as they were seemingly playing without a clear offensive plan; not knowing what to do with the ball for all the possession they had and, instead, depending on set-pieces and long shots.
Nigeria played a compact and well-organized game at the back; but did not offer anything threatening, besides the goal, on the counter and, sometimes, gave away possession too cheaply.
The second half began in a somewhat similar fashion to the first as Nigeria grabbed a quick goal after Musa exchanged a brilliant one-two with Emenike from a rather deep position. Admittedly, it was bizarre to see how Argentina’s defenders were left, somewhat, WATCHING Musa run through on goal to score!
Shortly after that, Argentina regained the lead from a corner amidst some poor Nigerian marking; with Rojo being rather fortunate to flick the ball into the back of the net.
Argentina’s game in the second half had a real element of width to it; as Lavezzi (on for the injured Agüero) constantly ran the channels for them and offered a crucial dimension to their play which they clearly lacked in the first half.
The Argentinians were better in attack in the second half; fully utilizing the entire width of the pitch to get their long and through balls in behind Nigeria’s defense.
Nigeria seemed flustered and still struggling to regroup after that 5th goal; but it did not last for long as they began to attack more and more as time passed by, with Argentina playing on the break this time.
The closing minutes of the match saw Argentina defend fairly deep as they looked to close-out the game; but they were lacking a bit of precision in front of goal every time they quickly counter-attacked.
Nigeria’s lack of urgency in their build-up play and actual attacks, probably due to exhaustion, did not aid them at grabbing a late equalizer as the game came to an end.
Given the way the match went, it would be an understatement to say that Nigeria did not hold anything back from Argentina and were brave in their offensive approach; even though they lacked real urgency at certain times. Their defense under-performed in the set-piece-department as they were too static; but on a whole, they were more organized and compact than Argentina’s back-line for most parts of the game.
Argentina were largely subdued in the first half; lacking creativity and width in their forward play. They slightly improved in those areas in the second half and also showed a flexible side to their game; as they opted to play on the break for the latter stages of the game. All in all, it was not an entirely convincing performance from them though (story of their WC campaign so far)!
Man of the match: Ángel di María: Did NOT lay back for even one second during the entire match; constantly running between Nigeria’s lines and looking to exploit spaces!
Nigeria vs. Argentina:-
A match that was, more or less, literally defined during the first 5 minutes of each half!
There weren’t many changes from both teams’ previous games in terms of their formations or tactical set-ups. The only thing worth mentioning would be Coach Alejandro Sabella’s decision to play Messi as a pure center-forward behind the striker duo of Agüero and Higuaín (in comparison to the right-wing role from their last match); as Coach Sabella looked to fully utilize Messi’s attacking abilities.
The game saw one of the best starts to a match at the WC so far, with a goal from each team in the opening 3 minutes; as both sides still had not gotten accustomed to the tempo and rhythm of the match yet.
Nigeria were not defending as deep as was expected from them; however, Argentina were the ones in constant possession of the ball.
The Argentinians were pressing Nigeria back into their own half, going at their defense from all sides of the pitch; a tactic further aided by Nigeria’s continued disability of holding onto possession for long enough to get themselves out of such a situation and build something forward.
The game’s tempo began to drop significantly as time passed by; as Argentina were too slow in creating chances from open play and sometimes deliberately subduing their own pace in a feeble attempt to use the increased possession they were enjoying to literally pass their way through Nigeria’s defense.
It was a rather poor tactic; as Argentina were unable to create any real chances from open play and ended up constantly wasting possession in crucial areas, further diminishing their urgency in attack. The Nigerians were defending well but were too static in their forward play; barely offering anything of notice up-front.
The half came to an end shortly after Messi’s efficient free-kick-goal, onto which, for some reason, Enyeama decided not to pounce; even though he was moving with the correct pace in the correct direction!
In summation, it wasn’t such a great first half by any standards from either side. Argentina put in an insipid display of football as they were seemingly playing without a clear offensive plan; not knowing what to do with the ball for all the possession they had and, instead, depending on set-pieces and long shots.
Nigeria played a compact and well-organized game at the back; but did not offer anything threatening, besides the goal, on the counter and, sometimes, gave away possession too cheaply.
The second half began in a somewhat similar fashion to the first as Nigeria grabbed a quick goal after Musa exchanged a brilliant one-two with Emenike from a rather deep position. Admittedly, it was bizarre to see how Argentina’s defenders were left, somewhat, WATCHING Musa run through on goal to score!
Shortly after that, Argentina regained the lead from a corner amidst some poor Nigerian marking; with Rojo being rather fortunate to flick the ball into the back of the net.
Argentina’s game in the second half had a real element of width to it; as Lavezzi (on for the injured Agüero) constantly ran the channels for them and offered a crucial dimension to their play which they clearly lacked in the first half.
The Argentinians were better in attack in the second half; fully utilizing the entire width of the pitch to get their long and through balls in behind Nigeria’s defense.
Nigeria seemed flustered and still struggling to regroup after that 5th goal; but it did not last for long as they began to attack more and more as time passed by, with Argentina playing on the break this time.
The closing minutes of the match saw Argentina defend fairly deep as they looked to close-out the game; but they were lacking a bit of precision in front of goal every time they quickly counter-attacked.
Nigeria’s lack of urgency in their build-up play and actual attacks, probably due to exhaustion, did not aid them at grabbing a late equalizer as the game came to an end.
Given the way the match went, it would be an understatement to say that Nigeria did not hold anything back from Argentina and were brave in their offensive approach; even though they lacked real urgency at certain times. Their defense under-performed in the set-piece-department as they were too static; but on a whole, they were more organized and compact than Argentina’s back-line for most parts of the game.
Argentina were largely subdued in the first half; lacking creativity and width in their forward play. They slightly improved in those areas in the second half and also showed a flexible side to their game; as they opted to play on the break for the latter stages of the game. All in all, it was not an entirely convincing performance from them though (story of their WC campaign so far)!
Man of the match: Ángel di María: Did NOT lay back for even one second during the entire match; constantly running between Nigeria’s lines and looking to exploit spaces!
Ahmad Al-Omar - 25. Jun, 23:34
