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The African Champions Nigeria will take on Iran in what could be a tense battle between two teams who will fight it out till then final whistle for a win.
The teams are placed in Group F with one of the tournament favourites and giants Argentina and newbies Bosnia and Herzegovina, so if there is a definite winner in this match that team will put themselves in a good position to reach the knockout stages. Iran have never beaten Nigeria and have won only one game in their entire World Cup history.
Venue
Nigeria and Iran will play their first match at Arena Da Baixada stadium in the city of Curitiba. The city is one of the finest examples of a bulky economic and industrial development carried out with responsibility and organisation. The stadium holds a maximum capacity of 38, 533 people.
Squads
Nigeria
Nigeria comes with a squad comprising of many players representing top clubs in Europe’s top leagues.
Their captain and first choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama plays for Lille in Ligue 1 where he took over as the first choice keeper this season and went on to keep 11 consecutive clean sheets and conceded a goal after 1062 minutes and only because he was beaten by a deflected shot!
Their defense comprises of Norwich City’s Joseph Yobo and Chelsea’s on loan player Kenneth Omeruo who has impressed despite his young age.
Their midfield comprises of Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel. Mikel will be crucial to Nigeria keeping their defense tight. Joining him in midfield will be Lazio’s Eddy Onazi. Onazil who is just 21 has been a regular in the Rome club and will be hoping to impress many at the World Cup.
But Nigeria’s strength lies in their attacking department. They have players like Victor Moses, Peter Odemwingie, Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa and Shola Ameobi.
Moses had a disappointing loan spell at Liverpool, but he has performed well for the national team and will be hoping to put his poor season behind him and get a fresh start with Nigeria to make his way into Jose Mourinho’s plans at Chelsea. Odemwingie on the other hand was struggling at Cardiff City but came back strongly after his move to Stoke City in January. Ahmed Musa of CSKA Moscow is a pacey customer and can play out wide or centrally. Musa was a key player in the CSKA side that defended their league title successfully this season.
But the player to watch out for is Emmanuel Emenike. The Fenerbahce striker had a good domestic season and helped his side to a league title with 12 goals and 9 assists despite suffering regular injuries in the second half of the season. Emenike is strong in the air and very quick on his feet and will be a handful to any defender if he is in the mood.
Iran
Iran does not boast a team with big names even while comparing to Nigeria. But it will be foolish to underestimate them. They are managed by former Real Madrid and Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz.
Queiroz managed to qualify South Africa to the World Cup in 2002 which is quite an achievement.
Queiroz was renowned for introducing players from the Iranian Diaspora to the national squad. These players include German Iranians Daniel Davari who plays for Grasshopper in Switzerland, Ashkan Dejagah who played for Wolfsburg and currently plays for Fulham, Dutch-Iranian Reza Ghoochannejhad, Swedish-Iranian Omid Nazari, and Iranian-American Steven Beitashour among others.
Iran qualified for the World Cup as group winners and Queiroz has done a commendable job with the squad he has at his disposal.
Iran team is filled with players who play in the local leagues. Their captain Nekounam who has vast experience and has played in the World Cup previously will have to lead from the front. Dejagah who was part of the relegated Fulham team was impressive towards the end of the campaign and has experience of playing in the Premier League and Bundesliga and will be key for the Iranians.
Kickoff Time
June 17 – 12.30 am – Indian Standard Time (IST).
June 16 – 4.00 pm – Local Time.
Probable Starting Line Ups
Iran – Iran play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Charton Atletic striker Ghoochannejhad up front. Midfielders Teymourian and Nekounam will be expected to sit deep and aid the defense and act as the outlet for Iran counterattacks through Dejagah and Ghoochannejhad. Daniel Davari is expected to start in goal ahead of Rahman Ahmadi.
Starting 11: Davari, Beitashour, Hosseini, Sadeghi, Pooladi, Nekounam, Teymourian, Dejagah, Haddadifar, Shoejaei, Ghoochannejhad.
Nigeria – Nigeria is expected to play a 4-4-2 formation to make good use of their strike force. In form striker Emenike and Odemwingie will be playing up front. Emenike will be hoping to feed on the areal balls won by Odemwingie. In defense Nigeria are in the safe hands of Enyeama who did well to stop Lionel Messi in the 2010 World Cup. Aiding him will be veteran Joseph Yobo who is also the most capped Nigerian player.
Starting 11: Enyeama, Ambrose, Yobo, Omeruo, Oshaniwa, Musa ,Onasi, Miekl, Moses, Emenike, Odemwingie.
Form
Nigeria despite all the quality players at their disposal come into the tournament after losing 2-1 to the United States and playing a goalless draw against Greece in their two warm-up games. The results though may not have affected the morale of the team.
Iran on the other hand drew their game against Angola and won against Trinidad and Tobago in their two warm-up matches before the tournament.
Prediction
Nigeria looks like the stronger team and the African Champions might finish the game with 3 points with a score line of 2-0.
Match Officials
Referee: Carlos Vera (ECU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christian Lescano (ECU)
Assistant Referee 2: Byron Romero (ECU)
Fourth Official: Wilmar Roldan (COL)
