argentina 2-4 nigeria

Nigeria came back from 2-0 down to claim a sensational 4-2 friendly win over Argentina at the Krasnodar Stadium in Russia on Tuesday evening.

The pre-match headlines were dominated by Lionel Messi’s absence after the Barcelona frontman was granted a rest by manager Jorge Sampaoli and returned to his club.

La Albiceleste had the better of the opening stages and finally broke through in the 27th minute after having won a free-kick for a Daniel Akpeyi handball outside the area. Éver Banega made the Chippa United keeper pay, curling the ball into the bottom right corner.

From there, Argentina pushed forward in search of a second. They went close in the 31st minute, when Enzo Pérez forced a corner off Akpeyi and then Nicolás Otamendi headed just wide of the target.

Five minutes afterwards, the pressure payed off as Pavón played the ball across goal for Sergio Agüero, setting up the simplest of finishes for the Manchester City striker.