Nigeria vs Iceland
World Cup 2018 Group D
Date: Friday, 22 June 2018
Kick-Off at 16:00 UK / 17:00 CET
Venue: Volgograd Arena, Volgograd.
Nigeria vs Iceland Match
Bottom-of-the-group Nigeria will look to bounce back from their opening defeat against Croatia when they take on World Cup debutants Iceland in Group D. Iceland held Argentina in their first match, and therefore sit one place and one point above Nigeria. The two nations have only met once before, when Iceland triumphed in 1981. This match takes place on Friday June 22 and is scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nigeria – Victor Moses
Reinvented as Antonio Conte's first choice at right wing back for Chelsea, Moses reverts back to his former life as a rampaging wide attacker for Nigeria. Inspirational with three goals in four matches as the Super Eagles topped CAF Group B, he was unable to lift his teammates from their torpor against Croatia.
Iceland – Alfred Finnbogason
Unable to find the net during three substitute appearances at Euro 2016, Augsburg forward Finnbogason got in on the act by canceling out Sergio Aguero's opener against Argentina. An increasingly central figure in Iceland's golden era, he scored 12 times in the Bundesliga last season.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Iceland drew its first-ever World Cup game when it met Argentina. The last side to avoid defeat in its first two World Cup games was Senegal in 2002, while Croatia in 1998 was the last European side to do so.
- Nigeria has won just one of its past 13 games at the World Cup (W1 D3 L9), with that victory coming against Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2014.
- Alfred Finnbogason has scored in each of his last three appearances for Iceland, though the team has failed to win any of those matches (W0 D2 L1).
- Victor Moses has been directly involved in 36 percent of Nigeria's 14 shots at this World Cup, with three attempts of his own and two further chances created — more than any other player for the Super Eagles.
Nigeria Iceland Head-to-head
The two teams are about to lock horns for the first time ever on Friday.
Nigeria vs Iceland Prediction
The loss to Croatia made it three on the bounce for Super Eagles following defeats to Argentina and France four years ago in Brazil.
The clash with Iceland should give them a fair chance to see an end to such run. Rohr will hope to avoid own goals this time out as the team conceded two subsequent own-goals at the competition if we count the one from the last 16 round four years ago against France.
We expect a close contest with very few goal-scoring chances at both ends here.
Both managers fancy a disciplined defensive-minded approach and even though the draw will not be much of a help for either side, we see it as the most likable of three outcomes here. You can back it at the odds of 3.20.
Under 2.5 goals FT should really be a banker bet at 1.53, while you can also back low number of shots in the game overall.