Iceland’s Volcano Will Continue to Erupt
The day after the super match up of Argentina and Croatia another, less glamorous match in Group D will be being played out. Come the end of the match, I think the Icelandic Vikings will still have cause to celebrate.
Nigeria
Nigeria don’t have a lot to go on after their opening match against Croatia. Losing 2-0, anyone who saw it knows it could’ve been a lot more. Extremely disappointing to give the opposition an own goal, and even worse to do it in the same game where you give away a penalty! Even if those goals hadn’t gone in, Croatia would’ve still managed to grind out a result and find another way, I’m sure of it.
The quality of their goalkeeper and their backline isn’t enough to maintain a good performance
Unfortunately, Nigeria’s defence just doesn’t match up. Simply the quality of their goalkeeper and their backline isn’t enough to maintain a good performance against a team like Croatia. Nigeria’s hopes before the World Cup were that their attackers would make up for these defensive defects. I find it strange that they decided to start with Ighalo against Croatia instead of Iheanacho, or even to at least start them together. Having said that, overall, I still have my doubts about both players.
Especially when you’re going up against Iceland, who in all likelihood will play compactly, and don’t let teams create much space. It means that even if you start with the aforementioned attacking duo, they still might not be able to get the speed and space they need to do damage.
I’ve placed an outright on Nigeria not scoring more than 2.5 goals in the entire tournament. I’m sticking to my guns and I think that Nigeria won’t be able to get the job done overall, but in this match especially.
Iceland
Iceland have shown once again that you can never count them out, even against the big boys. Exactly like in the Euros two years ago, before you even realise it they can drum up something special in the space of just a few minutes.
I expect the Icelanders to deliver another well thought out and constructed game plan
Against Argentina they battled ruthlessly in one on one duels, (Bjarnasson, what a tough guy he is) and they stopped Argentina at almost every opportunity. But at the same time you can’t say Iceland are negative and kill the game, as Argentina themselves didn’t create enough penetrative chances. Even with the exception of the penalty, the chances Argentina’s did create were simply too soft.
Against Nigeria I expect the Icelanders to deliver another well thought out and constructed game plan that they’ll stick to at all costs - until the right opportunity arises to break. Iceland won’t be happy with a draw here, especially considering their previous opponents were a lot tougher. Count on Iceland to grind out a win.
Betting Tip
It’s going to be a tight one but I think Iceland will definitely see this one through to a victory, although it may be tough to come by. The odds are just giving it to Iceland, and the odds should be slightly better.
That’s why I’ve gone for an Iceland draw no bet with Betfair for odds of 9/10. (1.90)
