Argentina vs Nigeria match in numbers

It was the morning after the night before for Argentinian fans in Nizhny Novgorod on Friday and the recriminations from the devastating Croatia defeat just hours earlier were well underway.

The realisation that the 3-0 thumping by Croatia -- complete with comedy first goal -- had left the mighty two-time winners on the verge of a humiliating exit, left some of their fans in tears.

On Friday, many remained stunned by what had happened.

"We can't sleep, we can't talk, we can't do anything," said Sebastian, a 34-year-old lawyer who had travelled to Russia from Rosario.

"We've never seen anything like last night."

The team, he said, had shown no "huevos", using the Spanish slang for testicles.

Susi, a grandmother from Buenos Aires who spent an eye-watering $40,000 taking her son and grandson to Russia, said the result was so bad it could have implications for Argentina's president, Mauricio Macri, as he battles economic problems at home.

"If Argentina loses, it can become a social problem," she said.

The defeat was arguably the most shocking result of the tournament so far.

A team thought among the favourites for the World Cup, with superstar Lionel Messi as captain, were not expected to struggle through the first stage.

They certainly weren't expected to play so badly.

The result was Argentina's worst at a World Cup since being dismantled by Johan Cruyff's "Total Football" Dutch side 4-0 on a thundery night in West Germany back in 1974.

Nor were Argentina meant to rely on the results of Iceland or Nigeria just to remain in Russia.

With one point from two games, their fans were desperate for Nigeria to beat Iceland in Friday's game to retain hope of qualifying for the knockout stage.

"Today, all my country is Nigerian," joked Nicolas, 41, a company owner from Buenos Aires.

Fans of the "Albiceleste" could be spotted all around Nizhny on Friday.

Some were walking round town in kit, others with "Lio" shaved into their hair, and those draped in the country's flag, like Santiago, a student from the south of Argentina, as he prepared to head to Saint Petersburg for Argentina's crucial final Group D match on June 26.

Who was to blame? The embattled coach Jorge Sampaoli or the curiously listless players who have failed to produce, including the great Messi?

"I believe that the coach is not sure what he wants, or he is unable to pass this onto the players," said Santiago.

"But they also have to play, after all they are professionals."

- Down, but not out -

Despair though had turned to hope in the cold light of day, or at least the first signs that all was not lost

Cousins Juan and Valentino from Cordoba were about to embark on a 20-hour journey by train and plane via Moscow, Rome, Madrid and Buenos Aires to go home.

Their Russian odyssey was over but maybe not their team's.

Valentino complained that the Argentinian public and media put too much pressure on the side.

"The people think that the only way is to win the World Cup, they don't consider it a probability to lose," said Valentino, a 19-year-old student.

Juan called for as many as five changes in the team for the Nigeria game.

"We have a potential chance, it's time to support the team," said the 37-year-old accountant hopefully.

"We were in the same situation as we are now (when qualifying for the World Cup).

"We did it one time, so we can do it again."

Dramatic late strikes by Philippe Coutinho and Neymar gave Brazil their first win of the World Cup against Costa Rica in St Petersburg on Friday and broke Central American hearts by sending them out of the tournament.

The result leaves the five-times world champions with four points from two games after they drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their opening match, and they provisionally rise above Serbia to top Group E.

Serbia play Switzerland later on Friday.

The clock had ticked past 90 minutes when Marcelo crossed from the left and substitute Roberto Firmino headed the ball back across goal to Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus's first touch took the ball away from the defender and Coutinho raced in to poke past Keylor Navas from six metres out and claim his second goal of the tournament.

Neymar added the second with practically the last kick of the game, racing on to Jesus's square ball following a quick counter-attack as Costa Rica were forced to push for the equaliser.

The forward, who thought he had won a penalty in the 77th minute only for the referee to reverse the decision after consultation with the video assistant referee (VAR), was overcome by emotion on the whistle, covering his face as tears streamed down his cheeks.

For long periods Costa Rica's flat-back five kept Neymar on the periphery, with Johan Venegas and Cristian Gamboa both man-marking him out of the game as Brazil found it hard to carve out chances in the first half.

Marcelo's tame shot straight at Navas in the 41st minute was the first effort on target from either side before the break, and the team went into halftime with the boos and whistles of their own fans ringing in their ears.

Celso Borges spurned arguably the best chance of the first period for Costa Rica when he ran on to Gamboa's cut back but shot wide from eight metres out.

The result means Brazil have avoided the ignominy of equalling their longest winless run at the World Cup.

Lionel Messi and Argentina hit the training ground on Saturday with renewed hope of qualifying for the World Cup last 16.

Argentina were on the brink of elimination after a humiliating 3-0 loss to Croatia, but Nigeria's 2-0 win over Iceland on Friday offered the two-time world champions a lifeline.

Victory over Nigeria in their final Group D match in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday would send Argentina through as runners-up if group leaders Croatia avoid defeat against Iceland.

Gabriel Mercado, Nicolas Otamendi and midfielder Lucas Biglia trained separately from the rest of the squad in the gym as they recover from minor knocks.

Defensive pair Mercado and Otamendi suffered ankle injuries in the loss to Croatia but are expected to be fit to face Nigeria.

Coach Jorge Sampaoli was roundly criticised for his approach against Croatia, sparking rumours the 58-year-old would be sacked during the tournament.

It had been suggested that 1986 World Cup winner Jorge Burruchaga, the team's technical director, would replace Sampaoli, but the claims were strongly denied by the Argentina Football Association (AFA).

Messi was kept quiet as Argentina suffered their heaviest first round group stage defeat since 1958, but the Barcelona forward could yet have his say at what is likely his fourth and final World Cup.

Goalkeeper Willy Caballero could be dropped following his mistake for the opening goal against Croatia, with River Plate's Franco Armani possibly in line to make his international debut.

England coach Gareth Southgate was keeping his feet firmly on the ground after England's 6-1 World Cup group-stage rout of Panama, declaring "I didn't particularly like the performance".

With a grin Southgate explained to the BBC: "I'm being hyper-critical, but I didn't like the start, I didn't like the goal at the end. The bits in the middle were pretty good though!"

Southgate was speaking after a hat-trick from Harry Kane, a double from John Stones and another from Jesse Lingard saw off Panama and qualified England into the knockout stages.

As it stands England are level on goal difference with also-qualified Belgium but top the group by virtue of yellow cards -- two compared to the Belgians' three.

The countries meet in Kaliningrad on Thursday.

Asked about possible changes to his XI to face Belgium, Southgate commented: "I want to keep the momentum, we have to think about the team we want to put out, it's an opportunity for players who need a match who haven't played for a while but on the other hand we want to keep winning.

"It's a nice decision to have!"

Reflecting on a record World Cup win for England -- their previous best result was 3-0 -- he added: "I was a bit anxious at the start, they (Panama) had six at the back and three in middle, but once we worked that out I thought we played some really good stuff for 35 minutes.

Southgate's main gripe was his defence allowing Felipe Baloy to score Panama's first ever World Cup goal in the 78th minute.

"At half-time we talked about one more goal to be top of the group, that's why the goal at the end was disappointing," he said.

"We'd rather be in control of the group than not, and confidence wise it's important to score goals.

"It was a big moment for Lingard and great for the captain (Kane) to score a hat-trick, that way he didn't have the hump when I took him off!"

Veteran Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano insists relations between the players and coach Jorge Sampaoli are not strained after reports of unrest within the team camp.

Sampaoli was roundly criticised for his game plan following a 3-0 loss to Croatia in Argentina's second group game at the World Cup, sparking rumours the 58-year-old would be sacked during the tournament.

"The relationship with the coach is completely normal," Mascherano said ahead of the must-win match against Nigeria in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday.

"Obviously, when we feel uncomfortable about something we speak with him because if we didn't we would be hypocrites."

Argentina were on the brink of elimination after the Croatia mauling but victory against Nigeria would send them through as runners-up in Group D if leaders Croatia avoid defeat against Iceland.

"We know the situation is tricky," Mascherano said. "We have to be united, to express our opinions, and do everything possible so the team goes into the game in the best position."

Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia has given his backing to Sampaoli after holding a meeting with the embattled coach on Friday, a team source revealed.

Franco Armani is tipped to replace Willy Caballero for the Nigeria clash after the Chelsea goalkeeper's blunder against Croatia, with Sampaoli also expected to ditch his three-match defence and return to a traditional back four.