World Cup 2014 Preview, How to Watch, Schedule: Nigeria Face Argentina for Spot in Knockout Stages
Argentina will look to secure the top spot in Group F while Nigeria will try to clinch a spot in the knockout stages when they collide on Wednesday at the Estadio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre.
Heading into the match, Argentina will advance to the next round after scoring a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 1-0 win over Iran, but they still need at least a draw in order to finish on top of the group, which will help them avoid an early showdown against France in the round of 16.
Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella was not content with his team's performance despite scoring twin victories, and he is looking for improvements in their match against Nigeria.
"I'm worried in the sense we have to improve. We need to be more mobile, to find spaces and we will see if the match will be different. We are going to meet a team that can play with high potential, switch to attack with ease," Sabella said.
Wednesday's match will be more important for Nigeria as they need to win in order to avoid any complications in case Iran scores a win against Bosnia in the other Group F match.
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi, whose team opened the tournament with a draw against Iran followed by a 1-0 win against Bosnia, is confident that his squad will be up to challenge, saying that the Nigerian side have yet to reach their full potential.
"The players have shown that they are good enough for the World Cup but they are yet to play to full potential," Keshi sai via EuroSport.
But in order to win, Nigeria has to stop Lionel Messi in his tracks on Wednesday. The Argentina star has been on target in their first two games, scoring two goals, including the game winner against Iran on Saturday.
Nigeria goalkeeper Victor Enyeama knows that he will have his hands full against Argentina, not only because of Messi, but also because of their key players like Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria, but he feels that they have prepared well enough to slow them down.
"It might not be a game between him and me, it's going to be Nigeria against Argentina," Enyeama said of Messi. "There are other players like [Sergio] Aguero and [Angel] Di Maria. I watch tapes of opponents, I have done that. We have studied their tapes, their strengths and weaknesses."
Schedule, Date, How to Watch
The crucial match between Argentina and Nigeria will kick off at 12 p.m. EST Tuesday. ESPN will broadcast the match and it will also be available on WatchESPN.
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