Nigeria vs. Argentina live stream: Watch World Cup online
Argentina face Nigeria at St. Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday, June 26. Here’s all the info you need to watch.
For Argentina, it has come down to this. After a 1-1 draw with Iceland and a 3-0 loss against Croatia, La Albiceleste need to defeat Nigeria on Tuesday while doing some scoreboard watching in the process.
If everything lines up for Argentina (which it hasn’t thus far at this tournament), then they will advance to the round of 16. They need a win, while Iceland needs either to draw or lose to Croatia. Should this scenario play out, Argentina would advance and live to see the round of 16.
Coming up short, however, will mean an early trip home and a disastrous World Cup for Lionel Messi and his teammates — all depending on the outcome of the simultaneously played Iceland-Croatia match at Rostov Arena in the southern Russian city of Rostov-On-Don.
“I would beg for their forgiveness, especially those Argentina supporters, who made such a great effort to be here. And I repeat what I said, I’m responsible. I was just as dreamy-eyed as any fan before,” Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli told reporters after last Thursday’s defeat to Croatia. “I’m hurt. I did the best job I could and I quite simply did not find a way to give them what they wanted.”
Expect some wholesale lineup changes for Argentina going into this match, including the benching of goalkeeper Willy Caballero, whose blunder led to the first goal against Croatia, as well as modifications to the midfield and changes in attack to further aid Messi. Paulo Dybala may also play alongside Messi from the very start if Sampaoli chooses to go with a 3-3-1-3.
The two-time World Cup champions have been shambolic at every turn during this tournament, and now finds themselves on the brink of elimination with talk that the players wanted to oust their manager.
History is on Argentina’s side. In their four previous meetings against the African nation at the World Cup (which includes meetings at the 1994, 2002, ’10 and ’14 tournaments), Argentina have never lost. In a friendly this past November, however, Nigeria defeated Argentina 4-2.
For Messi, playing in possibly his last World Cup, it could all finally come to an end come Tuesday. For a player who had come out of international retirement after failing to win the 2016 Copa America Centenario, Messi now finds himself having to deal with being possibly the best player in history to have had some of the worst coaches and teammates ever at the national team level.
For Nigeria, this match represents a wonderful opportunity to try and grab a win against a wounded team and make some history at Russia ’18. Aside from having the tournament’s top-selling jersey, the Super Eagles are one of the most talented teams from Africa. Manager Gernot Rohr will need to continue instilling confidence in this squad packed with young talent. Led by former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, expect the Nigerians to come out aggressive offensively, as they did against Iceland this past Friday, and put pressure on Argentina’s lackluster defense.
Against Iceland, Nigeria put together a wonderful performance. Striker Ahmed Musa tallied a brace to power his side to victory, blowing open Group D for either Nigeria, Iceland or Argentina the chance to advance depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s matches.
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The World Cup game between Nigeria and Argentina will be broadcast live on Fox. Live streaming is available on Fox Sports Go, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscriptions, both online and through the app, and on Fubo.TV.
Date: Tuesday, June 26
Start time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: St. Petersburg
Stadium: St. Petersburg Stadium
TV Info: Fox
Live stream: Fox Sports Go | Fubo.TV. Sign up for a free seven-day trial here.
A win for Argentina and they could be into the round of 16, while a loss would provide the exclamation point to what can only be called an utter disaster for a side some had predicted could win it all on the eve of this World Cup.