Marvelous Ahmed Musa was the toast of Argentina after handing Lionel Messi and chums a crucial World Cup lifeline.
The Leicester outcast came in from the cold with two stunning goals to halt Iceland in their tracks, becoming Nigeria’s record World Cup goalscorer in the process.
Now the struggling Argentines can still qualify for the next round if they beat Nigeria in their final group game next Tuesday and hope that Iceland don’t better their result against group leaders Croatia.
Musa did not score a single Premier League goal for Leicester last season before being sent back on loan to former club CSKA Moscow in January.
But the £16.6million forward showed Claude Puel just what he is capable of with a stunning second-half display to keep Nigeria’s own hopes alive.
Musa’s stunning double came completely out of the blue after a turgid first-half performance from the Africans.
Nigeria are notoriously vulnerable at set-pieces yet conceded a free-kick on the edge of their penalty area after just two minutes.
Fortunately for the not-so-Super Eagles, teenaged keeper Francis Uzoho was able to palm Gylfi Sigurdsson’s shot behind for a corner.
Yet the 19-year-old did not look so comfortable on high balls into his box and was lucky to escape with his goal intact when he flapped at a 21st minute long throw.
Chelsea wing-back Victor Moses was not quite so fortunate as he copped Birkir Bjarnason’s follow-up volley right in the unmentionables.
With temperatures in Volgograd officially ‘effing boiling’ it was a good job that most of the pitch was in shadow yet the pace of the game was still little more than pedestrian.
At least there was no sign of the flies which had plagued England here on Monday but there was little else to be grateful for during a low-key first-half.
Iceland should have taken the lead just before half-time but Alfred Finnbogason somehow bundled another Sigurdsson free-kick wide from two yards out.
There was such a lack of urgency about the Nigerians that it was hard to believe they were fighting for their World Cup survival.
They finally came to life shortly after the half-time break to register their first shot of the match, a tame effort from Oghenakaro Etebo which was comfortably saved.
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