Argentina Takes Revenge Over Nigeria

There we no favorites for the Olympic Games Men's Football Tournament Final. In Atlanta in 1996, the Argentinean team was clear favorites, but Nigeria had beaten the Argentinean team 3-2, and Argentineans saw this game as revenge.

The match started at 12 p.m. Beijing time at the National Stadium known as Bird's Nest. The temperature was around 90 °Fs and the pitch seemed dry at the edges which could cause injury to the players easily. Around 90,000 spectators watched the match. The Argentineans started the game very well, creating chances and using the ball very well. They used the wings effectively and also dominated the middle of the pitch with the help of their skilled midfielders. Most of the Argentinean players are playing for the upper class European teams so they were advantageous to Nigerian players.

The Nigerian midfielders seemed not knowing what to do. They lost many ball and they failed to pass the ball to their forwards. The Nigerian team was not as strong as the Nigerian team back in 1996. Argentineans found many goal scoring chances in the first half. Riquelme and Monzon were unlucky as they tried their luck with long range shots.

After the first half ended, the Argentineans came out to the pitch very fresh and their passing accuracy was impressive. A through ball sent behind the Nigerian defence in the 58^th minute, Angel Di Maria chipped the ball perfectly over the Nigerian goalkeeper. The goal made a shock effect on Nigerians as Argentineans played very well till the 75^th minute. The Argentineans got tired after this minute and Nigeria started to be dangerous with their counter attacks.

In 72^nd minute Javier Mascherano got very lucky as he was trying to clear the ball, the ball got blocked by the Nigerian player, it was about to be an equalizer goal. The Nigerians tried their luck by long shots as they failed to create goal scoring chances in the Argentinean penalty box. The last minutes, Argentinean players acted professionally as they wasted the time perfectly during the fouls and dead balls. 5 minutes of overtime was added and both teams seemed to accept the score of the game. The Argentineans won the game, got their Gold Medal and took revenge.