Argentina vs Nigeria: Preview and Live Score of Olympics 2008 Football Final
To get live score and updates of the Argentina vs Nigeria gold medal match, visit the following link:
Argentina vs Nigeria Live Score and Updates: Olympic 2008
Current gold medal holder Argentina will face Nigeria in the final of men’s football at Beijing Olympic Games tomorrow, looking to defend their gold medal they earned in Athens four years back. Nigeria, full of confident upon the enthralling 4-1 semi final victory over Belgium, will be looking to replicate their success of the gold medal match of 1996 Atlanta Games against the same opponent Argentina. Nigeria emerged 3-2 winner in that match to clinch the first and only Olympic gold medal in football so far.
Match: Argentina vs Nigeria, Final of Men’s Football, Beijing Olympic Games 2008
Date: 23 August 2008
Venue: National Stadium, Beijing
Kick off: 12:00 Chinese Standard Time (CST)
Well, Argentina is also flying in the sky after their 3-0 triumph over arch rival Brazil in the semi final match. So, Argentina is no less confident than the “Super Eagles†Nigeria in the final match. After their defeat in the final match of 1996 Olympic Games, Argentina took a sweet revenge in 2007 U-20 World Cup defeating Nigeria 3-2. Some of the key players of Argentina’s current squad including Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Fernando Gago, Oscar Ustari etc. also played a big role behind their 2005 U-20 world cup victory. So, Nigeria knows it very well that how much dangerous Argentina could be if they are given any chance in the match.
Road to Final: Argentina and Nigeria
Argentina’s road to final was not that difficult as they showed some brilliant pieces of football all through the tournament so far. Starting with a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in the opener, Argentina went on to progress to the quarter final with 100 percent winning record from Group A. Argentina pulled off 1-0 victory over Australia in the second match before clinching 2-0 victory against Serbia in the third and last match of the group.
Then in the quarter final, Argentina faced another football powerhouse Netherlands whom they defeated 2-1 thanks to an extra time goal in the match. That victory set up another high profile Brazil-Argentina encounter, but Argentina emerged as easy winner in the match with excellent performance.
For Nigeria, it was a 0-0 draw in their opening match against Netherlands, but they pulled off 2-1 victory over Japan in the second match, requiring at least a draw in their last group stage match against USA to book a quarter final place. Nigerian players went on to win the match 2-1 and entered into the quarter final as Group B champion. The Super Eagles then defeated Ivory Coast in the all-African quarter final 2-0 to set up a semi final encounter against Belgium. The way Nigeria outclassed Belgium to reach the final was brilliant. Now, they are gearing up to take the revenge of their 2-3 lose to Argentina in2005 U-20 world cup.
Argentine coach Batista is very much happy with his young players whom he does not want to refer as children, considering their skill and ability in the field. From the very beginning of the tournament, Batista has been claiming of prospect in the squad.
Guardian reported:
It is clear Batista feels he has a squad ready for anything. Before the tournament started, he was already relishing the prospect of leading such a fine ensemble. There was something of a paradox, I put it to him, that in this finest exposition of the most noble aspects of sport – youth and amateurism – he was in charge of some of the world’s most expensive and well-established professionals. “It’s hard to think of them as children,” I said, “although they’re close.”
Nigeria Facing Messi Factor
It is not new for Nigeria. In fact, the African side suffered a lot by Messi in 2005 U-20 world cup and they are fully aware of the seemingly danger of Messi ahead of the match. Moreover, the Argentina star has been in his prime form at this moment by threatening the opposition defense in every match. Brazilian coach Dunga admitted after their 3-0 lose to Argentina in the semi final that all of his plans to stop Messi failed as the Barcelona star played a pivotal role in Argentina’s victory in the match. However, Nigeria must stop Messi if they want to clinch their second Olympic gold in football.
Nigerian manager Samson Siasia also admitted that his side must defend Messi successfully, giving no chance to Messi. He also observed Messi in the 2005 U-20 world cup defeat because Siasia was the manager Nigeria U-20 team.
Express India reported:
Coach Samson Siasia, who scored for Nigeria in their 2-1 group loss to Argentina at the 1994 World Cup in Boston, said marking Messi was his team’s biggest priority in the Beijing final.
“To defend against Lionel Messi is the biggest thing we have to do. We just have to make sure we stay close to him and we don’t give him the chances like we did the last time in the under-20 World Cup,” said Siasia.
“Their biggest star is Messi, that’s it. That’s all. He is the biggest star in that team.”
Nigeria has nine members from their 2005 U-20 world cup squad. So, the upcoming final match could be termed as a rematch of 2005 U-20 world cup in the sense that most of the key players in both Argentina and Nigeria squads played in that match.
Online Live Score and Updates
Here, I am giving some online live score and update websites from where you can get the online live score and updates of the match, if you can not get to enjoy the match on television screen:
Live Score
Goalzz
Live Football Scores
Goal.com
Footie Scorez
Argentina seems to be slightly ahead of Nigeria on pen and paper, but it will be unfair to write off Nigeria’s chance in the match at this moment. Defeating favorite teams is not anything new to Nigeria. Moreover, they have a very strong squad which includes some technically skilled players like Peter Odemwingie and Victor Obinna Nsofor. So, I think, the match is going to be an interesting one with both sides having equal chances to clinch the gold medal. Now, let us hope to experience an exciting match.
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