VOLGOGRAD – Ahmed Musa returned to the line-up with devastating effect as he scored both goals for Nigeria to help them resuscitate their World Cup hopes in a 2-0 win over Iceland at the Volgograd Arena on Friday.
Left out of his country's opening Group D game at the tournament in Russia, Musa showed his worth with two outstanding strikes that put the Africans back in contention for a second round place.
The opening goal, soon after a drab first half, saw him pluck the ball out of the air with his first touch before blasting it home. The second goal came in the 75th minute, when after a break down the wing, Musa cut inside and waltzed around the goalkeeper before firing the ball into the net.
Ahmed Musa (left) of Nigeria scores for the 2-0 lead over Iceland in Volgograd on Friday night. Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA
Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson shot an 82nd minute penalty over the top of the bar, denying his team a chance to try to force a late comeback.
All three other teams in the group remain in the hunt to go through with Croatia, but Argentina and Iceland know they have to win to have any chance of progressing.
He's the first player to score at multiple #WorldCup editions for #NGA
The @Budweiser #ManoftheMatch is @Ahmedmusa718! pic.twitter.com/xv0sxEQgVi
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 22, 2018