If you are an ardent follower of Nigerian football, you are surely not a stranger to the rivalry between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the La Albiceleste of Argentina which started in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup when Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1.
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Since 1994, whenever a Nigerian football team is up against an Argentine side, there is usually a strong sense of rivalry between them.
On November 14th, 2017, the African football powerhouse, Super Eagles, reignited their rivalry against the South Americans at the Krasnodar Stadium in Russia as part of preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Javier Mascherano captained Argentine side took the lead in the 27th minute of the game through a brilliant freekick from Ever Banega. As the Nigerian side tried to regain composure, they found themselves trailing the 1986 World Cup winners by two goals after Kun Aguero doubled their lead in the 36th minute of the encounter.
Kelechi Iheanacho showed his class in the 43rd minute of the game as he curled in a brilliant freekick to reduce the goal deficit to one.
Nigeria entered the second half stronger as Alex Iwobi restored parity between both sides in the 51st minute, and when Nigerians thought the Super Eagles might try to play safe and defend a little bit more, Brian Idowu in an impressive debut for the West Africans made it 3-2 in the 53rd minute of the game.
Argentina tried to equalise, but their woes were compounded in the 72nd minute as Alex Iwobi scored his second goal of the game after beating the Argentine defenders to make it 4-2.
The joy of Nigerian fans at home and the ones present in Krasnodar knew no bounds as celebrations kicked after the centre referee, Vladislav Bezborodov, blew the final whistle.
Sources:
Bleacher
AS English
Featured Image Source: Evening Standard
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