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Group D - Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria - CRO & ARG advance


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Argentina

 

Goalkeepers: Willy Caballero (Chelsea), Franco Armani (River Plate), Nahuel Guzman (Tigres).

 

Defenders: Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla), Federico Fazio (Roma), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United), Nicolas Taglafico (Ajax), Javier Mascherano (Hebei Fortune), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon), Cristian Ansaldi (Torino).

 

Midfielders: Ever Banega (Sevilla), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Angel di María, Giovani lo Celso (both Paris St-Germain), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), Enzo Perez (Boca Juniors).

 

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala (both Juventus), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City).

 

Iceland

 

Goalkeepers: Hannes Thor Halldorsson (Randers FC), Runar Runarsson (FC Nordsjælland), Frederik Schram (FC Roskilde).

 

Defenders: Kari Arnason (Vikingur), Ari Skulason (Lokeren), Birkir Saevarsson (Valur), Sverrir Ingason (FC Rostov), Hordur Magnusson (Bristol City), Holmar Eyjolfsson (Levski Sofia), Ragnar Sigurdsson (FC Rostov).

 

Midfielders: Johann Gudmundsson (Burnley), Birkir Bjarnason (Aston Villa), Arnor Traustason (Malmo FF), Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Olafur Skulason (Kardemir Karabukspor), Rurik Gislason (SV Sandhausen), Samuel Fridjonsson (Valerenga), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City).

 

Forwards: Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Bjorn Sigurdarson (FC Rostov), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Reading), Albert Gudmundsson (PSV Eindhoven).

 

Croatia

 

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Gent), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb).

 

Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinic (Milan), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivaric (Dynamo Kiev), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Duje Caleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg).

 

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan), Filip Bradaric (Rijeka).

 

Forwards: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan), Nikola Kalinic (AC Milan), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Juventus), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina).

 

Nigeria

 

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna), Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United).

 

Defenders: William Troost-Ekong, Abdullahi Shehu (both Bursaspor), Tyronne Ebuehi (Benfica), Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge), Brian Idowu (Amkar Perm), Chidozie Awaziem (Porto), Leon Balogun (Brighton), Kenneth Omeruo (Chelsea).

 

Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Tianjin Teda), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester), Oghenekaro Etebo (CD Feirense), John Ogu (Hapoel Be'er Sheva), Joel Obi (Torino, Italy).

 

Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho (both Leicester), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Simeon Nwankwo (Crotone).

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https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1007613575073058816

 

:lol:

 

Reminds me, it's a shame Ghana potman won't be at this years tournament.

Na wa for my people, man. I do not see why our chickens have been banned when Morocco and Iran are poisoning the world's ears with non-stop horns that have no harmony at all. :lol: Chickens will not hurt anyone. Abeg, I am just hoping they will allow us the customary drums and trumpets into the stadiums because they were trying to ban them from entry in Brazil. We need to create a real Naija atmosphere :smitten:

 

It has been a poor tournament for Africa, so we will have to carry the flag now. The group is tough, but we have quality and a good group of players, so I am not worried. The main question I have with this team is really the same question I had four years ago. Namely, who is going to score goals for this side? Iheanacho and Musa are the two most prolific players in our ranks (especially with Moses Simon injured), but it appears they will be the first options off the bench rather than starters. Kelechi's situation reminds me of the Odemwingie conundrum from 2014 because in terms of quality in the final third, he is the best option, but we struggle to find a role for him to start because he is not a target man and has just been OK as #10 without someone like Vardy running in behind. Moses and Iwobi are very dangerous when they are on form and direct, but neither is really prolific. Ighalo, like Emenike last time, is really being picked to start because of his ability to hold up play when we are defending rather than his lethal goalscoring touch.

 

The keeper is another question. Uzoho will be the best keeper in Africa one day, imo, but today may not be that day. He's only 19, and while he has great natural  reflexes and a huge frame to dominate the box, he has indecisive and panicky moments where you can tell the boy is very green. I'm quite confident our defense and midfield are up to the task and they will need to protect young Uzoho.

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Against anyone else yes, but Argentina are my boys in this WC - I want Messi to go the whole way :thup:

 

It would be nice to see Messi go mental and carry them to a title, and really hit those heights.

 

Be interesting to see how they look, as Iceland can be a dicey team to go up against.

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I really think that Croatia will flop. They have a great bunch of individuals, but they have a lot of inside problems. That's why Iceland was 1st and Croatia 2nd in their qualifying group. (Yup, same group in the qualifiers and at the wc )

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