On Friday morning, nearly 200 fans of Iceland’s World Cup soccer team — some natives of Reykjavik and other parts of the sparsely populated North Atlantic nation, others firmly seated on the Viking bandwagon — gathered in a cramped space in a midtown Manhattan pub. Dressed in their blue Iceland shirts, they were ready to cheer their country’s soccer miracle onto the next round. With a win over Nigeria, Iceland would almost assuredly advance to the knockout stage. The fans sipped on their cold Einstök ale, while chanting “ĺs-land! ĺs-land!” (Pronounced “Eees-land!). The sounds of the Viking clap bounced around the bar. But then Iceland met Ahmed Musa. The Nigerian forward, who plays for Leicester City in the English Premier League, scored a pair of exquisite second-half goals against Iceland in Russia, giving Nigeria a 2-0 win over the World Cup underdog darlings and reviving the African nation’s chances of reaching the knockout stage for the second consecutive tournament. Nigeria’s victory also gave underachieving Argentina, home of the legendary Lionel Messi, a puncher’s chance of saving its own World Cup campaign. Iceland had its chances in the first half, dominating play but failing to convert its free kicks and long passes into a goal. Nigeria didn’t even take a shot on goal in the first half. In the 49th minute, however, with the score tied at 0-0, Musa took a cross, touched it onto the grass and fired it into the net off a short-hop. Then in the 75th minute, Musa outran an Iceland defender down the side of the field, moved with the ball into the middle, then dribbled around Iceland keeper Hannes Thor Halldórsson — making Halldórsson look comically slow in the process — before knocking in his second goal. A penalty shot in the 83rd minute offered Iceland a speck of hope. But Iceland’s most technically gifted player, Gylfi Sigurdsson, sailed his shot comfortably over the crossbar, knocking the air out of Iceland’s chances and out of the New York fan pub, where Iceland supporters buried their heads in their hands. Nigeria’s win gives Group D of the World Cup, already one of the tournament’s most intriguing combinations, extra drama going into the last game of the opening round. Croatia, with a 2-0 victory over Nigeria last week and a 3-0 stunner over Argentina on Thursday, has already clinched a spot in the knockout stage. Nigeria, with three points thanks to the win over Iceland, faces Argentina, which has a point due to its draw with Iceland last week, on Tuesday. If Nigeria beats Argentina, the Super Eagles advance — and knock Argentina, finalists at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, out of the tournament. If Argentina wins and Croatia beats or draws with Iceland on Tuesday, Messi still has a chance to win his first World Cup, despite Argentina’s dysfunction in the first two games of the group stage. Iceland’s still alive, but needs a win and either Argentina to draw with Nigeria, or for Argentina to beat Nigeria, but by not too many goals. Goal differential is the first group stage tiebreaker, and at this point Iceland has given up two more goals than it has scored, while Argentina is facing a three-goal deficit. Got all that? As Iceland has discovered in its World Cup debut, this tournament’s an emotional ride. Your country’s fate, for good or ill, can change in an instant. Still, after the disappointment of the Nigeria game, the Iceland pub in New York was far from somber. “We’ve still got a shot,” said Hlyur Gudjonsson, Icelandic Trade Commissioner to North America and the Consul General for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Sure beats the alternative. 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Write to Sean Gregory at sean.gregory@time.com.<doc-sep>A world of possibilities has opened up for both these sides in a group that was supposed to be dominated by Argentina and Croatia. The former’s disastrous loss to the latter on Thursday turned this match into one of the most intriguing of the week. If Iceland wins, it will then need just a draw in its finale against Croatia to advance — and maybe not even that. If Nigeria wins, it could then eliminate Argentina with a win or draw in their meeting next week. A draw here would leave things unsettled for all three teams, and set up plenty of drama on Tuesday.<doc-sep>Don't miss a moment of the World Cup! Visit "My Teams" in your Settings and select your favorite team to set up scores and news alerts. Nigeria has moved into second place in the World Cup's Group D after beating underdog Iceland 2-0 on Friday thanks to two goals from Ahmed Musa. The African nation struggled in the first half and was fortunate to not concede, but Musa went on the counter with Victor Moses in the second half to score the winning goal before putting the game away late, placing his team in a great spot while also giving Argentina life. Here's the winning goal, which came on 49 minutes: Then Musa left his defender in the dust and juked out the goalkeeper for the 2-0 lead: You know things were going well for Nigeria when fans started to do the "Skol." Gylfi Sigurdsson skied a VAR-confirmed penalty kick with 10 minutes to go, and Iceland could not recover, staying on a point with Argentina. The win for Nigeria means the team can move on if it beats Argentina, but it could also draw and advance as long as Iceland doesn't beat Croatia. Iceland (vs. Croatia) and Argentina (vs. Nigeria) will both be looking for a win in their final group stage match while hoping the other doesn't win. If both win on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, they'll be hoping to top the other on tiebreakers, where Iceland has a slight advantage in goal differential after two games played. You can watch all the World Cup action, including those final Group D games, on fuboTV (Try for free). Iceland vs. Nigeria score, live updates If the live blog doesn't load properly, click here.<doc-sep>[UP NEXT: Follow our live coverage of Switzerland vs. Serbia] Musa nearly got a second when his shot caromed off the top bar. Then a moment later, in the 75th minute, he latched onto a long ball, beat a defender and then the keeper, and poked the ball into an unguarded net. “I have to thank my teammates and the coach who believed in me,” Musa said after the match. “We have to focus on the last game because that’s more important than today’s win.” With eight minutes to go, Iceland seemed to have earned a chance to close the gap. When Alfred Finnbogason of Iceland was brought down with a whack on the calf from behind, there was initially no call. But a video review determined that it was a penalty. Gylfi Sigurdsson was elected to take it, and he aimed for the top corner. But it sailed comfortably over the bar, ending Iceland’s hopes. Croatia is now safely through to the next round from Group D. But the second spot is up for grabs. Some of the happiest viewers of Friday’s game had to be the Argentine team. Had Iceland won, it would have been in a terrible spot to advance. Now it has a chance.<doc-sep>
Ahmed Musa gave Nigeria its first win at this year's World Cup, and gave Argentina a gift. FIFA World Cup Wrap: June 22 Sports 2:38 Brazil moved to the top of Group E, Switzerland earned the first come-from-behind victory of the World Cup over Serbia, and Nigeria's win sets up a showdown between Argentina. 2:38 Musa scored two second-half goals to help the Nigerians beat Iceland 2-0 Friday and move into second place in the group behind already-qualified Croatia. Nigeria will face Argentina in its final group match on Tuesday in St. Petersburg. If Nigeria wins, it will advance to the round of 16. But if Argentina claims all three points, it can still advance depending on the result of the other match between Croatia and Iceland. Musa, Nigeria's all-time leading World Cup scorer with four goals, gave his country the lead in the 49th minute after Victor Moses sprinted deep into the Iceland half and curled a cross to the near post. Musa deftly controlled the ball before slamming it past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson on the half-volley. Nigeria nearly doubled its lead on several occasions, but Musa made it happen in the 75th minute. He picked up the ball on the left side of the Iceland penalty area, mazed his way past Halldorsson and picked his spot in the Iceland goal. "I have to thank my teammates and the coach who believed in me," Musa said. "We have to focus on the last game because that's more important than today's win." Iceland had a chance to get one back but Gylfi Sigurdsson sent a penalty kick way over the Nigeria bar in the 83rd minute. The penalty was awarded after a video review showed that Alfred Finnbogason had been brought down by Tyronne Ebuehi. Key to success Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr made some tactical changes for the match, and they worked. As well as starting with Musa, he opted to play captain John Obi Mikel in a more defensive role in midfield. His presence helped to shore up the defence against Iceland's two-man forward line. Rohr had come under pressure on the eve of the match to play Obi Mikel as a shield in front of the defence, the position he has played for much of his career, including at Chelsea. Rohr also played midfielder Victor Moses more defensively, too. "If you change something you have to explain why," Rohr said, "and they have to do it with conviction and motivation."