Group D Predictions (Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria)

[betcatalog]

Despite the disappointing appearances of Argentina, I will bet on her victory, because despite her problems, she has the quality and selfishness of her players, to claim with claims the qualification
NIGERIA vs ARGENTINA @@ ARGENTINA, odds 1.52

I will go with the best quality team and not with militancy, and Iceland should win and give places in Croatia, punish it
ICELAND vs CROATIA @@ CROATIA, odds 2.20

[Xcout]

Nigeria vs Argentina
World Cup 2018
26 June 20:00 hrs (CET Time)

This World Cup has been a rollercoaster of emotions, with many shocking results, as this World Cup has shown that distances have shrunk and winning takes work and effort, there have been the usual weak teams, Panama or Tunisia, but many that were expected to be, Iran and Morocco, have shown dedication and quality and have pushed important teams, as Spain or Portugal, to the last minutes of their matches to secure qualification to next stage. Still plenty group matches to be played and emotions are secured to be extreme.

With 36 matches played, only in 11 matches the difference has been more than 1 goal. The remaining 25 have been either draws, 7 matches,  or victories by just one goal of advantage, 18 matches. Therefore 25 matches has been “close encounters”, more than 50%, which is a very high percentage.

With that in mind and having seen the disastrous performance that Argentina has made on the tournament, where they have seen inoperative,  lack of coordination and overall having Messi being a not show, in the last match GK Willy Caballero had more passes than the Barcelona star, which is a very telling statistic. Even though the team is with no lack of offensive options, but the main player able to set differences by a lot is Messi.

Argentina arrives to this match with a chance to qualify to next stage, thanks precisely to Nigeria that with their 2-0 victory against Iceland, keep up alive Argentina options, who needs to beat Nigeria and expect that if Iceland beats Croatia, is by a lower score than which Argentina beat Nigeria.

For Nigeria a Draw might be enough, but that is if Croatia beats or draw with Iceland, and even if Croatia loses, that the scoreline is not by 2 goals for Iceland. Therefore Nigeria have to do their share of their work and see how the Croatia vs Iceland develops, lest keep in mind both matches are played at the same time.

The tactical snippets

- Nigeria will continue their focus their gameplay with wings attacks with Moses as the first option and relay on counterattacks as the open spaces will be on Argentina defense, and the speed of the African players will be a key asset for them, lets remember  that the offensive players Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Etebo and Ndidi play in the English Premier League and are used to confronting packed defenses as also having open spaces, together with already having faced Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Otamendi, and Willy Caballero there.

- Argentina is the needed team here and should be expected to dominate the actions and look to generate scoring chances, I expect Messi to return to the midfield, and Di Maria together with Meza or Dybala to take the flanks, I think in front Kun Agüero or Higuaín, or the surprise of both in front, either way you need a player with good ball control as the Nigeria defense will relay on closing spaces and having the ability to create the chances will be key.  Long shoots might be a weapon they should not forget. An unexpected Argentina might be their best chance, but things look bleak for them.

Final Thoughts

Of their previous four encounters in World Cup between them, all have been Argentina victories, all by 1 goal of difference. I consider that Nigeria has a great opportunity to change this as the needed team here is Argentina, therefore the huge advantage of 1 goal is great as is where I see the value together with the opening statement of many close encounters in this World Cup and the physical aspect of Nigeria.

Nigeria +1 AH with 7 units @ 2.08 at Pinnacle

[StevieDay1983]

Nigeria vs Argentina

The big game to watch this evening comes live from the Krestovsky Stadium in St Petersburg at 7pm where Nigeria and Argentina play against each other to decide which team will progress to the 2nd Round of the 2018 World Cup. There are a number of possible permutations that could see one of these two sides or Iceland qualify with Croatia.

A win will be enough for Nigeria. Full stop. A draw would also be good enough for Nigeria unless Iceland somehow defeated Croatia by three goals or more. If it was three goals exactly then it would still go down to goal difference, goals scored, or maybe even fair play. Argentina can only progress with a win provided Iceland do not win. If both sides win then we are into more complex territory of separating the teams again. Iceland can potentially qualify with a win provided Nigeria and Argentina draw or Argentina win... but even then there are several outcomes that could happen. It's bloody complicated! Basically, get your calculators and statto friend round to work it out as the games go on.

Nigeria have already stayed true to the inconsistent tag we gave them coming into the tournament. They wilted without a trace against Croatia in the opening game but then fired back through an Ahmed Musa brace in their second game with Iceland. Which Nigeria side will show up for this massive game?

Argentina have been subjected to the most public of humiliations followed by a thorough critique of their flaws. It all seems to obvious but it remains to be seen whether Jorge Sampaoli will do anything about it. His side were on the brink in qualifying and Lionel Messi bailed them out with a hat-trick. Will he be on hand to help again?

I don't know why but I can just see Argentina doing this. Even though I've not seen anything yet to suggest that they will cause Nigeria problems I just think the way Nigeria play will open the game up a bit. Nigeria possess the weakest defence in the group and that could be Argentina's saving grace. I'm expecting an attack-minded match. Nigeria cannot afford to sit back and allow their defence to take all the pressure. Attack is the best form of defence for Gernot Rohr's team. Argentina to win. That should see them squeak through to the last 16 as well.

Total Goals Scored Over 2.5 @ 1.72 with SportingBet

Argentina HT/FT @ 2.38 with Betfair

[StevieDay1983]

Iceland vs Croatia

The other game going on in Group D's final round of matches is this 7pm BST kick-off between Iceland and Croatia at the Rostov Arena at Rostov-on-Don. I won't go into the all ifs and buts. You can check them out in the post above. It's a fragile situation though with Croatia already through and Iceland fighting against Nigeria and Argentina for that second place spot.

Iceland will be disappointed they followed up their impressive 1-1 draw with Argentina by losing 2-0 to Nigeria in such underwhelming fashion. It means they need to win this game against the group leaders Croatia to stand any chance of qualifying. Even then it is out of their hands and dependent on the other match result. In other words, hope is fading for Heimir Hallgrimsson's team.

Croatia have been a delight to watch so far. Their complete annihilation of Argentina in their last group game really sent a message to the rest of the nations at the tournament. This Croatian team means business and they are here to try and win this competition. After what we've seen it would be hard to argue against them making a push that could go all the way.

It's rumoured that Zlatko Dalic will be resting a few players for this final group team to prepare for a potential 2nd Round tie with either France, Denmark, or Australia. If you were pushed to wager a guess you would say they are expecting to play Denmark. What a last 16 tie that will be! How will the possible squad changes affect the game? Will the hungry players wanting to seize their opportunity make it more difficult for Iceland? Or will the potential absence of big name players instil optimism in the Icelandic ranks?

I can see this game being a tentative affair. Iceland have based their current philosophy on a tight defence. It worked against Argentina but they came undone against Nigeria. I'm not sure they have the quality in the final third to go more attacking. It risks opening them up and if they go a goal down then it will be an almost impossible job to rescue their qualification hopes.

No matter which side Croatia field, I think they've got enough to take something from this game. Iceland might scrape a draw but it's hard to see them taking the win against an impressive and organised Croatia side. Unless Dalic makes wholesale changes. My recommendation would be to wait for the Croatia line-up then take a decision. Right now, I'd back a draw or Croatia win in a low-scoring game.

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.74 with MarathonBet

Croatia to score first @ 1.85 with BetStars

[Xcout]

20 hours ago, Xcout said:

Nigeria vs Argentina
World Cup 2018
26 June 20:00 hrs (CET Time)

Nigeria +1 AH with 7 units @ 2.08 at Pinnacle

Result:

Nigeria 1 - 2 Argentina

0 units

The match was 1-1 until the 85th minute, but with a great goal Argentina was able to clinch the victory, the fifth in a row where they beat Nigeria by 1 goal, and this goal see them proceed to next stage. Hard defeat for Nigeria after being so close.  Remanence of Mexico 1 - 2 Argentina in World Cup 2006, when in Extra Time, Maxi Rodriguez scored the definitive goal.