World Cup: Nigeria battle to stay in the tournament

Nigeria must win their match against Iceland this afternoon to stay in the World Cup beyond the group stage.

e45957d6-b1f9-476d-8a7e-4e9eb7a7ada2 — Defender Elderson Uwa Echiejile (C) and teammates looked upbeat at yesterday’s training session. Photo: AFP

Our BBC colleague Aliyu Tanko is feeling hopeful about the Super Eagle’s chances and tweeted this photo outside the match venue in Russia:

Nigeria have the youngest squad on average at this World Cup, but the biggest concern heading into a crunch game with Iceland is that age-old problems remain.

While it would be convenient to blame Nigeria’s defensive frailties in the defeat by Croatia on the relative inexperience of their squad, a weakness at set pieces has long been Nigeria’s Achilles heel.