Lionel Messi scored twice to help Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 as both sides progressed from Group F.
Messi's
two goals were twice cancelled out by Nigeria's Ahmed Musa but Marcos
Rojo's second-half finish made sure Argentina took all three points and
finished top of the table.
Despite their defeat, Nigeria also progressed to the last 16 as Iran
were beaten 3-1 by Bosnia-Herzegovina -- meaning the Super Eagles go
through as runners-up.
Messi's double means he is now the 2014 World Cup's joint top scorer
with Neymar on four goals and, while the No. 10 was substituted and
spared the final half-hour of the game, his emphatic form means
Argentina will go into the competition's latter stages in high spirits.
It took less than three minutes for the South Americans to break the deadlock.
Javier Mascherano fired an incisive pass to Angel Di Maria and, while
the winger's shot was saved by Vincent Enyeama, the ball cannoned back
off the near post and into the path of Messi, who shot high into the
net.
One minute and 20 seconds later, however, Nigeria were level. Michel
Babatunde broke from midfield and played the ball left to Musa who
skipped inside Pablo Zabaleta before curling the ball brilliantly past
Romero and into the far corner.
Argentina almost restored their advantage soon after when Messi slid
in Gonzalo Higuain but the Napoli striker could only find the
side-netting from an acute angle after dribbling round the goalkeeper.
After a pulsating opening 10 minutes, the game tightened up with
Nigeria successfully able to stifle Argentina's attacking talents.
Di Maria skewed a shot wide from the edge of the area just before the
half-hour mark and Peter Odemwingie fired a long-range shot over the
bar as both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Sergio Aguero's injury-plagued season continued as the Manchester
City forward hobbled off in the 37th minute and was replaced by Ezequiel
Lavezzi.
Two minutes before the break, Messi fired a bending free kick from 40
yards towards the top corner but Vincent Enyeama was able to dive
across and push the ball past the post.
Moments later the Argentina number 10 was given a second opportunity,
slightly closer in, and this time he made no mistake, chipping the ball
over the wall and beyond Enyeama to make it 2-1 on the stroke of
half-time.
The second period began just as frantically as the first, with two more goals in the opening five minutes.
Nigeria drew level for the second time in the match and again it was
Musa with the strike, as he ghosted through the Argentina defence before
slotting past Sergio Romero to make it 2-2.
The Super Eagles' parity was short-lived, however, as the lively Di
Maria unleashed a fizzing shot from the edge of the area that Enyeama
did well to palm behind.
From the resulting corner Argentina found the net as Nigeria's
defence failed to clear and Rojo was left free to turn the ball home
from close range.
Messi was denied the chance to complete his hat trick with Alejandro
Sabella opting to rest his talisman and bring on Ricardo Alvarez shortly
after the hour.
Argentina almost extended their lead in the 78th minute when Di
Maria's dinked free-kick allowed Lavezzi to volley from close range but
his shot was blocked by the feet of Enyeama.
Nigeria then went close at the other end as Musa again cut inside
Zabaleta on to his right foot but this time the Argentina full-back read
the move and was able to block the shot.
Ezequiel Garay should have put the result beyond doubt with a header
at the back post in the final 10 minutes but it proved inconsequential
as both teams booked their spots in the knockout stages.
