Iceland vs. Nigeria Prediction
Iceland secured one of the most shocking results of the first leg of group play as it carved out a draw with Argentina, while Nigeria was unable to find the same luck in a loss to Croatia. Will Iceland record the win today in a game that is seen as a fairly even matchup by oddsmakers?
Game Snapshot
97872 Iceland at 97873 Nigeria
Friday, June 22, 2018
Volgograd Stadium at 11AM ET
TV: FOX
Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, Iceland is a +175 favorite to win on the moneyline. Nigeria is a +180 underdog, while a draw is set at +200. The total is set at 2 goals.
Iceland stuns the world
It was only a draw and only one point, but Iceland will surely take it as no one expected it to hang with powerful Argentina in its first-ever World Cup game but instead secured a 1-1 draw. Iceland fell behind 1-0 in the 19th minute, but a goal four minutes later courtesy of Alfred Finnbogason evened the game at a score apiece. Both teams were held without a goal the rest of the way as it ended in a draw, which was a positive for Iceland and a negative for an Argentina squad that lost 3-0 to Croatia on Thursday. Iceland was outshot 26-9 and held only 27 percent of the possession, while also stopping a penalty kick from superstar Lionel Messi.
Nigeria blanked by Croatia
A 2-0 loss to Croatia left Nigeria as the only team in Group D without a point. That puts this contest versus Iceland as a must-win for the Nigerians. An own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo in the 32nd minute put Nigeria behind the eight ball, while a penalty kick goal by Croatia’s Luka Modric in the 71st minute put it away. Nigeria outshot Croatia 14-11 with both teams putting two shots on goal, while Nigeria held 47 percent of the possession.
Prediction:
Iceland was lucky in my opinion to get the draw with Argentina as it was mostly dominated, while Nigeria more than held its own versus Croatia but was done in by a couple of its own mistakes. These two teams are evenly matched, but I could see a letdown from Iceland after the Argentina result. I’m taking Nigeria to grab the win here.
WORLD CUP DAILY PREDICTION: NIGERIA +180