How Did Your Team Do?
Now that all five of the African teams in the 2014 World Cup are out, VOA Football looks back at the numbers. From shots on goal to goals scored, and from time of possession to number of yellow cards, see how your favorite team performed:
France vs. Nigeria
UPDATE: The good news for Nigeria is that they were able to score in this match. The bad news is that it was an own goal. Although Nigeria leaves the Cup after a 2-0 loss to France, Africa’s French-heavy team continues on.
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Nigeria hopes to keep Africa’s World Cup dreams alive when they face France today at 12 PM ET (4 PM UTC). But even if Nigeria loses, Africa still wins – more than three-quarters of France’s teeam come from Africa.
For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.
Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.
And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.
Argentina (3-2) Nigeria
UPDATE: A pair of goals each from Lionel Messi and Ahmed Mura – at the start and end of the first half – kept Argentina and Nigeria even. But it was a goal by Argentina’s Marcos Rojo in the 50th minute of the match that gave Argentina the 3-2, and the top spot in Group E. Although they lost, Nigeria also advanced to the knockout round.
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There’s no doubt that Argentina will advance to the Round of 16 – with a 2-0-0 record, they’re on top of Group E. And it’s likely Nigeria will advance as well – there’s only one very unlikely scenario where Iran could overtake them. But what’s uncertain is who will emerge as the top team from Group E: if Argentina wins or draws, they’ll claim the group’s top spot. But if Nigeria can beat Argentina, they’d be first, and Argentina would be second (but would still advance). The match starts at 12 PM ET (4 PM UTC).
For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.
Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.
And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.
Sky Blues vs. Super Eagles
After underwhelming early performances, traditional Latin American top dogs Argentina and reigning African champions Nigeria have something to prove when they meet in their final World Cup Group F match on Wednesday.
Argentina was among the favorites going into the tournament but despite a much-vaunted front four, they have yet to come alive, with the exception of some moments of match-winning magic from Lionel Messi.
Nigeria, representing Africa’s richest and most populous nation, has also labored to convince as a team.
Read more here at VOAnews.com.
Argentina, Germany Eke Out Victory
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and prolific German scorer Miroslav Klose rescued their teams with clutch goals in World Cup action Saturday.
Messi scored during injury time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Iran and qualify the Argentines for the coveted Round of 16. Klose found the back of the net in the 71st minute for the final goal in a 2-2 draw against Ghana.
In Argentina’s Group F match against Iran at Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Los Albicelestes appeared headed for a draw. But Messi, a four-time world player of the year, superbly curled the ball past diving goalie Alireza Haghighi during the first minute of stoppage time to derail an unheralded Iranian team that fought hard.
“With Messi, everything is possible,” Argentina’s coach Alejandro Sabella said. “Not even two goalkeepers could have stopped that Lionel shot.”
Argentina has six points from two wins in the tournament. But the world’s 5th-ranked team in the FIFA standings will need to improve its sometimes lackluster play when facing more elite opponents in the knockout round.
Argentina beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2-1, last week.
“If we analyze both matches, we might say we can play better,” said Messi, who has drawn comparisons to fellow Argentine legend Diego Maradona. “We know we’re not playing as well as we’re expected to.”
Saturday’s Group G match between Germany and Ghana at Arena Castelao in Fortaleza was thrilling.
Germany took a 1-0 lead early in the second half. But Ghana answered with two goals to go up, 2-1, by the 63rd minute. In the 71st minute, Klose tapped the ball in on a perfectly executed corner kick to tie the game and celebrated by doing a flip.
It was the 15th World Cup goal for the veteran German striker, tying him with Brazilian legend Ronaldo for the most goals in World Cup history. He is also Germany’s all-time leading scorer with 70 goals in 133 games.
“Twenty matches and 15 goals isn’t bad at all,” Klose told German television. “I don’t know how long it’s been since I did a somersault, but at least it worked out.”
Germany, the world’s 2nd-ranked team, would have secured a spot in the knockout round with a win against Ghana. But their tie means the United States will advance to the round of 16 if it beats Portugal on Sunday. Portugal will be eliminated if it loses.
Group G is known as the “group of death” because of the extremely stiff competition. Last week, the U.S. beat Ghana, 2-1, and Germany crushed a tough Portugal team, 4-0.
In the last game Saturday, Nigeria kept its hopes alive of reaching the knockout round and won its first World Cup game since 1998 with a 1-0 decision over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba.
Nigeria’s Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal of the Group F match in the first half. Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko had a goal disallowed due to a questionable offside call in the first half. His strike in the final seconds of the match hit the goal post.
“We were aware of the 16-year gap with no wins for our country,” Odemwingie said. “This is very exciting for us and very important, too, as the fans were disappointed by our previous performance” ((a scoreless draw against Iran)).
Bosnia, which was making its first World Cup appearance, was eliminated from the tournament.
In addition to the U.S.-Portugal match in Manaus, there are two Group H games on Sunday. Belgium faces Russia in Rio de Janeiro, and South Korea and Algeria clash in Porto Alegre. Belgium leads Group H with three points.