Nigeria came away with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Group F contest Saturday night at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but not without controversy.
In the 21st minute of a scoreless game, it appeared Bosnia had grabbed the early lead when striker Edin Dzeko took a pass from Zvjezdan Misimovic, then ran into the goal box and put the ball into the back of the net. According to the referees, however, Dzeko was offside, and the goal did not count.
Just eight minutes after the disallowed goal, Nigeria broke the tie. Emmanuel Emenike took the ball up the right side of the field and weaved his way into the goal box. He found Peter Odemwingie open in the middle, and he did the rest to give the Nigerians the lead.
For the rest of the contest, any attempt at a Bosnian comeback was met with stiff resistance by the Nigerian defenders. Dzeko has one last chance in the 92nd minute to knot things up, but goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama made a terrific stop to seal Nigeria’s first World Cup win since 1998.
The loss ends Bosnia’s run in this World Cup, though it has one more game against Iran on Wednesday. With four points, Nigeria sits in second place in the group and will take on Group F leader Argentina in its next game.
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