Argentina and Nigeria: the best are through

Argentina defeated Nigeria 3-2 and took first place in their group with three victories. Surely they have not been convincing, and they will have enormous difficulties in the coming matches, but their group victory and Messi's four goals must give them hope.
Nigeria are through on a victory and a tie, and after a great match against Argentina there can be no doubt that the African champions belong in the last 16, where they will hopefully be accompanied by other African sides.
Bosnia-Hercegovina won 3-1 over Iran to end the tournament with a well-deserved victory. They did not play bad, but a combination of bad luck and lack of commitment saw them out. Iran did not lack commitment, but they were a thoroughly poor side. After a good, but very defensive match against Argentina, they spent more time complaining about the referee and making up conspiracy theories than worrying about the next match. This shows what a poor side they really were; a side that came to defend and complain.
Great that they are going home. They will not be missed at all.

In the meantime I am celebrating with all Argentine and Nigerian fans! Cheers!

Poor Argentina

There is not positive to say about Argentina's 2-1 victory over Bosnia-Hercegovina. Messi scored a nice goal and Romero had good saves. Otherwise both teams were an enormous disappointment. Argentina went on the pitch with a five-man defense, looking as one of those teams who is more afraid to lose than wanting to win. Incredibly, that crowded defense looked shaky and I think a team with better strikers would have had a field day.

Besides his goal, Messi was not really working, and there was no midfield to talk of until Sabella did something sensible and put Gago on the pitch. It improved Argentina a little bit, making them from bad to mediocre. The thousands of Argentina fans in Brazil really do not deserve this.

Bosnia-Hercegovina will be quickly forgotten in this World Cup. Had they had more quality and more passion, they could have done damage.

This was one of the poorest matches of the tournament, and I doubt whether Argentina can get past Nigeria playing like this (I know too little of Iran to give my opinion). The Nigerians will press high in midfield and are unforgiving up front. 

The Rio de la Plata teams (Argentina and Uruguay) are positioning themselves to be the tournament's big disappointments.