Matchday 14 memorable moments were impressive two goal strikes by Argentina talisman Lionel Messi and promising Nigeria forward Ahmed Musa, ...
Matchday 14 memorable moments were impressive two goal strikes by Argentina talisman Lionel Messi and promising Nigeria forward Ahmed Musa, and a sensational hat-trick by Switzerland star midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri.
Argentina marched into the Round of 16 with a perfect group stage record, with Nigeria joining them as Group F runners-up despite losing to Argentina.
In Group E, France won the group with Switzerland as runners-up. World Cup debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina had their first ever victory at the World cup and bowed out with pride.
Lionel Messi scored twice in the first half as Argentina topped World Cup Group F with a 3-2 win over Nigeria, who also qualified for the Round of 16 despite the defeat.
Argentina took the lead three minutes to the game when Angel Di Maria's strike rebounded into Messi's path and he slammed the loose ball into the roof of the net.
Ahmed Musa equalised within 80 seconds for Nigeria with a beautiful curling effort. Messi made it 2-1 before the half time with a 25 yard free-kick.
Nigeria equalised just minutes after half-time when Musa grabbed his second goal when he fired in low. Marcos Rojo scored the winning goal when he knocked in a corner ball with his knee. Argentina will now meet Switzerland while Nigeria will play France.
In the other Group F game, Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Iran 3-1 with goals from Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic and Avdija Vrsajevic to bow out of the World Cup on a high.
Bosnia-Herzegovina went to the game having already been knocked out of the World Cup, while Iran still had a chance of progressing to the round of 16 with a win.
Edin Dzeko gave the Bosnians a deserved lead with a hard shot from 25 yards. Miralem Pjanic scored later to make it 2-0 a second after the break. Reza Ghoochannejad pulled one back for Iran but Avdija Vrsajevic socred the third goal to give Bosnia their first World Cup victory.
In Group E, France confirmed their place at the top of Group E after playing out a 0-0 draw with Ecuador which eliminates the South American team.
Ecuador frustrated the French team from scoring, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Karim Benzima and Loic Remy all went close to scoring. Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia was sent off.
Ecuador frustrated the French team from scoring, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Karim Benzima and Loic Remy all went close to scoring. Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia was sent off.
Having won their first two games, a point was enough to seal France passage to the Round of 16 and a date with Nigeria on Monday.
In the other Group E game, Xherdan Shaqiri netted a clinical hat-trick as Switzerland beat Honduras 3-0 to reach the Round of 16 of the World Cup.
Shaqiri scored twice in first half game dominated by the Swiss.
Honduras tried to come back into the game after the break but Shaqiri completed his hat-trick to seal the victory with 19 minutes left to play. Honduras finished bottom of Group E with three defeats from three matches while Switzerland earned a Round of 16 meeting with Argentina.
