Argentina have ultimately made it into the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after edging Nigeria 2-1 in their final Group D match on Tuesday.
The game was played in St. Petersburg in front of a crowd of 64,468.
The opening goal and Russia 2018’s 100th was scored by Argentina’s Lionel Messi on the 14th minute. Nigeria’s Victor Moses levelled from the spot on the 49th minute. Ultimately, the winning goal was scored by Argentina’s Marcos Rojo on the 86th minute.
With their long-awaited first win at Russia 2018 and four points, Argentina finished in the second place in Group D, ceding to Croatia.
Now, Argentina are up for a Round 16 match against France, number one in Group C. The game will be played in Kazan on June 30. Nigeria are eliminated with three points.
Russia is holding its first-ever edition of the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow with a spectacular opening show at the Luzhniki Stadium on the night of June 14.
Thirty-two national football teams were divided into eight groups, with four in each, and the top two from their relevant groups will proceed to the next round, known as the playoffs or the knockout stage, to keep vying for the much-coveted FIFA World Cup Trophy.
Eleven host cities, namely Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara, were selected to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup.