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Messi was quick out of the gate today and scored in the opening minutes of the match. A shot on goal by Angel Di Maria forced Nigerian keeper Enyeama to make a save and he got just enough on the ball to send the shot off the post. The rebound off the post bounced in front of the net and Messi blasted the loose ball into the net (3').
Nigeria wasted no time in finding the equalizer and scored on the following kick-off. Ahmed Musa found space in the Argentina box and curled a shot around defender Zabaleta and keeper Romero to pull even (4').
Just before half-time Argentina retook the lead on a free-kick by Messi. Messi had one free-kick attempt earlier that was saved by the keeper, but he got a second chance from nearly the same spot. With his second attempt, Messi successfully lifted the shot over the wall and got the dip on the shot to bring the ball back down under the crossbar (45 +1').
A goal right before half-time is often a morale killer, but Nigeria were not discouraged and quickly got another equalizer after the break. Playing a give-and-go with Emmanuel Emenike, Musa again got in behind the Argentina defense and fired a shot to beat the keeper near-post (47').
Nigeria fell behind once more though during a set-piece for Argentina. A corner-kick was sent into the box, but no one for Nigeria could clear the cross off the line. This gave leftback Marcos Rojo the opportunity to attack the cross and he scored with a shot off his knee (50').
Nigeria could not come up with a third equalizer and Argentina claim their third win in three matches. Fortunately for Nigeria today's loss does not hurt them. Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Iran in the other Group F match meaning Nigeria still have enough points to reach the knock-out round.
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