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A brace from Ahmed Musa saw Nigeria beat Iceland in the Group D encounter at the Volgograd Arena, which re-ignited their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
The game started off at pedestrian pace, with neither side really turning up the heat. The Super Eagles enjoyed 65% of meaningless possession in the opening half without mustering a shot on goal. The Icelanders didn't penetrate through the opposition defence an awful lot of times but certainly had chances to their name.
In the first few minutes itself, Gylfi Sigurdsson tested the Nigerian shot stopper twice. Chances also fell to the forward duo of Bodvarsson and Finnbogason. The quality of crosses and deliveries were top notch as far as the Vikings were concerned.
However, they began the second half of the game with tenacious intent, registering their first shot just 14 seconds into it. Musa rifled home a ferocious half-volley, off a well-designed cross from Victor Moses. For a side that failed to penetrate through or counter-attack, this was, in many ways, against the run of play.
Since then, the African side did more of the talking with the ball, committing more bodies forward, opening up chances for themselves and knocking at the European side's defence repeatedly. The Nigerians opened up their back line many a time, by raiding the wider areas with quicker passes.
A late penalty miss from Gylfi Sigurdsson pretty much summed up Iceland's second half, which only had a couple of chances invented.
Without further ado, let's take a look at 5 players who endured the most strikingly differing outings -
#5 Best: Francis Uzoho
Let's begin with Nigeria's gloveman, Francis Uzoho. The teenager announced himself to the big stage with a well-deserved clean sheet.
He didn't let the occasion get to him and kept his side in the game early on, which is definitely a huge contribution given the way things were progressing in the first-half for the Super Eagles.
He parried away a fantastic free-kick from Iceland's dead-ball specialist, Gylfi Sigurdsson to start things off. Rightly judging the pace, height and dip of the trajectory, he stopped an early threat. A few minutes later, Uzoho positioned himself almost perfectly to grab a tame effort from the same man.
In the second half of the match, he saved a shot taken by Finnbogason from a tight angle. The rest of the game, he didn't really have to stop the shots as they were off target.
He also marshalled and organised a solid, well-structured back line in front of him and helped reduce Nigeria's vulnerability in set-piece situations.
#4 Worst: Brian Idowu
Idowu's laziness and unprofessional footballing approach were one of the main reasons for Nigeria's abysmal first-half display.
Their defence was flat for the most part of the opening 45 minutes. Iceland's crossing and attempted long balls and diagonals proved to be a headache for their opponent's defence.
Idowu was often beaten and battered by Gislason, Saevarsson and Gylfi Sigurdsson. He couldn't cope with the dynamism posed by them, as they aimed to get in behind the defence through a couple of give-and-go's.
Also to add, he added almost nothing going forward. The Nigerian forwards had to spread out due to the lack of supply from the left flank. He also picked up a yellow card for a poor challenge.
No wonder he was substituted after the break.
#3 Best: Birkir Mar Saevarsson
Birkir Mar Saevarsson a silver lining in Iceland's dark cloud. Almost everything he did was encapsulated by proficiency and decisiveness.
First thing first, the right back defended with robustness, symbolizing solidity and reliability. The 33-year-old barely let anyone get past him, as he stood wide, deep and firm on his side. He didn't commit to silly challenges to get too tight on an opponent.
Saevarsson's passing and performance in possession was another plus point. He exactly knew when to exploit the Nigerian wide area. He linked up extremely well with his compatriots down the right side, playing many pinpoint passes and through balls.
The full-back also got into threatening positions when his side needed an equalizer. He overlapped the wingers and whipped them in with real quality
Earlier on in the game, when things were held tighter by both teams, he delivered crosses from right midfield itself. That only means that he perfectly played according to the situation.
#2 Worst: Gylfi Sigurdsson
The Everton midfielder makes it to this list only because of that penalty miss.
Firstly, let's acknowledge his performance - which was indeed inspiring at times. Sigurdsson's inventiveness hit top gear on occasions, as he found the right passes all the time.
He sprayed passes all around, hit sweeping balls, played a few in behind the Nigerian defence but most importantly, his crossing and set-piece deliveries increased Iceland's goal-scoring odds. He also tested the Eagles' keeper with a well-taken free kick.
It all went wrong when he stood up to take the spot-kick. Instead of keeping his cool and composure, the midfielder blazed it over the crossbar.
Now, one might argue if it's a harsh call to place him on the worst players' list. If looked at the timing of the game, there were still a good 15 minutes left after this penalty. Although a two-goal deficit looked far-fetched for a side that focuses on its defensive shape, this penalty would certainly have swerved the momentum in Iceland's favour.
Who knows, constant pressure after a score line of 2-1 would have helped them add another one to there tally, and thereby salvage a point. Hence, that miss meant that he let his entire nation down.
#1 Best: Ahmed Musa
Finally, we highlight the performance of the man who stole all the headlines - Ahmed Musa.
If his first-half staging is taken into account, the pacy forward was equal to almost nothing. He came off his lines to feed the wingers and try to make something happen out of the 65% possession in the opening 45 minutes.
In the second half, he set the field on fire. By complimenting Victor Moses and Wilfred Ndidi, Musa successfully exploited the narrowness of the Iceland defence to good use. He certainly looked livelier and more willing to receive the final ball.
For his first, he splendidly controlled a fine-tuned cross from Victor Moses - who also had an outstanding second half. With that touch, he nicely set it up for himself, only to dispatch a thunderous volley and leave Halldórsson with absolutely no chance.
Next up was his long ranger, which rattled the crossbar and denied him a second goal. Yet again, he completely deceived the opposition goalkeeper.
But just a couple of minutes later, Musa set off on his bike to complete one of the best solo goals in this World Cup. He ran in behind Arnason with the ball, flat-footed the entire defence, skipped past the goalkeeper and signed off with all the composure one could ask for.
He is the only player to score two goals in a single World Cup game for Nigeria. Oh yes, he's done it before too, against Argentina in 2014. The Leicester City forward undoubtedly unleashed his pace.
