Nigeria have battled to earn a 2-0 victory over Iceland at Volgograd Arena in a result that sees the race for second spot in Group D blown wide open.
Nigeria sprung the first surprise of the match in team selection, converting to a 3-5-2 formation after their opening game loss to Croatia and raising eyebrows by dropping Alex Iwobi to the bench.
Iceland were the side who set the pace early, with Gylfi Sigurdsson testing inexperienced 19 year old Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho a couple of times inside the first five minutes.
Nigeria went on to find a little more creative spark, but struggled to break down Iceland's solid defensive structure, which saw them keep their shape and sit deep. The Nigerians, donning their flashy Nike kit which has proved popular with fans, were not able to register a single shot on goal in the first half of play.
Both teams struggled to find any penetration in the first half, with Iceland only coming alive in the final couple of minutes. They started to whip crosses in and get the ball in good goalscoring positions, but the scoreboard remained untroubled going into the half time break.
Nigeria took no time at all fixing their stat of no shots on goal, directing an effort on target just 20 seconds into the second half. Hannes Halldorsson, coming off a stunning performance in goal against Argentina in Iceland's previous outing, dealt with the long range attempt with ease and looked equal to the challenge.
Just a couple of minutes later though, Nigeria again caught Iceland sleeping, with Victor Moses whipping in a cross to Ahmed Musa, who took a touch and volleyed home a spectacular goal to put his side 1-0 ahead.
Things got even worse for Iceland, as centre-back Ragnar Sigurdsson copped a head knock during the build up to the goal, and had to receive treatment before the restart of play.
Nigeria continued to create opportunities, and looked a completely different side to the one that had struggled so badly in the first half.
With a quarter of an hour to play, it was Musa who again stood up to make a difference for Nigeria, as he rattled a curling shot into the crossbar before receiving the ball back, rounding the goalkeeper, and firing in a goal into an empty net to put his side 2-0 ahead.
Fortune finally looked to favour Iceland, after a VAR check saw them awarded a penalty with 10 minutes to play. What followed summed up the day for Iceland, as their star player Gylfi Sigurdsson blasted his spot kick well over the bar. The chance would be the last of the game, as the match finished 2-0 in Nigeria's favour.
The win put Nigeria into second place in the group, and also keeps Argentina's hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. Argentina will advance provided they defeat Nigeria and Croatia gets at least a point from their clash against Iceland.
