So, Argentina and Nigeria are off to a good start. They're tied at one goal apiece, and have already made history. This is the first time two World Cup teams have scored within the first five minutes of any match in the tournament.
There's a lot on the line here. Argentina are advancing to the knockout stage no matter what, but a loss would see them finish second. Nigeria could potentially fail to advance altogether with a loss. It would've behooved both teams to come to play, and luckily for us, both did.
It took all of two and a half minutes for Argentina to open the scoring. Ángel di María was released on the left side behind the defense, and smashed a low shot off the post. It ricocheted right to Lionel Messi, however, who roofed his shot for the 1-0 lead.
It looked like maybe Nigeria were about to get rolled, but just a minute later, they struck back. Forward Ahmed Musa got the ball on the left side of the box following a Nigerian counter, cut inside on his right against Argentina right back Pablo Zabaleta, and curled a beautiful equalizer into the far side netting.
[ESPN]