ANKARA
Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Group F match Wednesday but the African side still went through to the next round after Iran failed to beat Bosnia Herzegovina.
Argentina made a flying start as Messi pounced on a Angel Di Maria effort that bounced back off the post in the third minute.
Within 80 seconds Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa put the teams level with a curled shot.
Confident Argentina took the lead again when Messi netted from a free-kick outside the area in first-half injury time. Vincent Enyeama in the Nigerian goal could do little to prevent Messi’s second as the ball cleared the defensive wall beyond his reach.
Early in the second-half Nigeria fought back and equalized once again, with Musa matching Messi’s brace as he played a one-two with team-mate Emmanuel Emenike before slotting home.
But the South Americans went in front a third time at the Estadio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre when a swinging corner from the left found the knee of defender Marcos Rojo in the 50th minute.
Iran’s 3-1 defeat at the hand of Bosnia, a team already ruled out of progressing to the next round, saw any hope of reaching the last 16 dashed.
Edin Dzeko scored in 23rd minute at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador and Miralem Pjanic doubled the Balkans side’s score in the 59th minute. Iran’s chances of a late revival following Reza Ghoochannejad’s 82nd minute goal were ended when Avdija Vrsajevic found the net just a minute later.
Results in Group F are as follows:
Nigeria 2 - Argentina 3
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 - Iran 1
Standings in the group are as follows:
| Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Iran | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
