Nigeria VS Iceland Match Prediction

Nigeria and Iceland's only previous meeting was a friendly back in August 1981, which Iceland won 3-0 in Reykjavik.

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Nigeria vs Iceland Stats

 Iceland are without a win in their last seven full international matches – their only win since achieving World Cup qualification came outside the FIFA international window

 Nigeria have lost four of their last five matches – failing to score in three of those

 Alfred Finnbogason has scored in each of Iceland’s last three matches

 Iceland have not kept a clean sheet in a full international since recording three in a row as they completed their qualification campaign.

Nigeria vs Iceland Betting Tips

Nigeria were shaping up nicely for the World Cup a few months ago, when they beat Argentina and Poland in friendlies, but the wheels have come off a bit lately.

Failing to get a shot on target in the first-half of their opening game – and conceding despite Croatia not having one either – continued their recent run of poor results and it is now five games without a win (with four defeats).

Iceland have also not won in five games, but their record has a very different slant to it now after drawing with Argentina last time out.

They shut down the Argentinians well, and reaped the rewards for that – now finding themselves in a potentially great position to reach the last-16. A win against Nigeria would further their strong footing.

Alfred Finnbogason got Iceland’s goal in that game – his third in three matches – while Hannes Halldorsson was excellent in goal.

Nigeria, by contrast, have struggled for goals of late – two in five matches, one against Congo DR and one in a losing cause against England do not make for good reading.

Odion Ighalo could be replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho up front but Nigeria do not just need their strikers to fire, they need to create more chances too.

Iceland proved at Euro 2016 they were no pushovers though, and again in World Cup qualifying, and having got their World Cup campaign under way with a big result against Argentina they are back on form in perfect time.

They now go into this match as favourites, and a positive result will put them in a great position to reach the last-16.

Nigeria vs Iceland Recommended bets with odds

Iceland are favourites for this game, and yet the World Cup debutants can be backed at a generous price of 17/10 with Bet365 and Betfair to beat Nigeria.

Even a ‘draw no bet’ selection will return 9/10 on Iceland to win with Betfair – perhaps a safer option given they have drawn their last two matches and not won since qualifying for the World Cup.

Iceland’s biggest handicap will be their defence. They have not kept a clean sheet since the World Cup qualifiers – even if they are up against a team who have scored just twice in five games.

Both teams to score has been set at a best price of 11/10 with 10Bet, while an Iceland win and BTTS is 11/2 with Bet365.

Alfred Finnbogason has three goals in three games for Iceland, but he can still be backed at 12/5 with Bet365 and 10Bet to score at any time against Nigeria.

Nigeria vs Iceland Top three bets

1) Iceland to win at 17/10 with Betfair
2) Both teams to score = yes at 11/10 with 10bet
3) Alfred Finnbogason to score at any time at 12/5 with Bet365

Nigeria vs Iceland Prediction

Iceland will take huge confidence from their draw with Argentina, while Nigeria have struggled for form at the crucial time lately. With Alfred Finnbogason in form, Iceland can take a big step closer to the second round.

Correct score prediction: Nigeria 1-2 Iceland

Correct score best odds: 11/1 (Betfair)

Nigeria Team News

Nigeria could make chances after their opening-day defeat, with Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho among those waiting in the wings. Odion Ighalo has not scored for Nigeria team since September last year and could make way for his fellow striker, while Ahmed Musa was also introduced off the bench against Croatia.

Nigeria Key Players

Alex Iwobi (winger) – Arsenal man scored against England at Wembley and netted twice in a 4-2 win against Argentina too

John Obi Mikel (central midfield)– Former Chelsea midfielder has won 86 international caps, and offers loads of experience.

Kelechi Iheanacho (striker) – Finished the Premier League season with a superb goal for Leicester and will hope to force his way into the starting line-up to face Spain.

Nigeria Previous match

Croatia 2-0 Nigeria

Nigeria actually created more chances than Croatia in their opening group game but only hit the target twice. Oghenekaro Etebo’s own goal gave Croatia a half-time lead, despite neither side recording a shot on target in the first half, before Luka Modric’s second-half penalty - after a silly foul by William Troost-Ekong as a corner came over – sealed victory.

Nigeria Team Form

Nigeria are now without a win in five games, of which they have lost four, following the 2-0 defeat to Croatia in their opening game. They have conceded just twice in that time too – a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo seeing William Troost-Ekong score his first Nigeria goal, while Alex Iwobi netted in the 2-1 defeat to England at Wembley. A 2-0 defeat to Serbia back in March and 1-0 loss to the Czech Republic in their final warm-up match sandwich those results, before the loss to Croatia extended their winless run.

Nigeria Predicted Starting Line up

Expected Line up: 4-3-3

Iceland Team News

Captain Aron Gunnarsson recovered from the injury that cut short his Premier League promotion-winning campaign with Cardiff to feature against Argentina. It meant Jon Dadi Bodvarsson dropped to the bench and Iceland could be unchanged after a professional performance – and a touch of fortune – earned Iceland a valuable point.

Iceland Key Players

Gylfi Sigurdsson (attacking midfielder) – Iceland’s talisman returned to fitness just in time for the World Cup – no player in the current Iceland squad has scored more than him

Alfred Finnbogason (striker) – Scored Iceland’s goal against Argentina, as well as netting twice in the pre-tournament warm-up matches and scoring 12 in 19 for Augsburg in the Bundesliga last season

Aron Gunnarson (midfielder)– The return of the Iceland captain not only brings plenty of experience to the midfield, but also the weapon of his long throw-ins

Iceland Previous match

Argentina 1-1 Iceland

Sergio Aguero’s early goal gave Argentina the lead against Iceland, but Alfred Finnbogason levelled four minutes later to give Iceland their first ever World Cup goal. Argentina dominated – enjoying more than three-quarters of the possession and finishing with 17 shots (seven on target) in all, but could not find a way through. Of the six saves Hannes Halldorsson made, one included Lionel Messi’s second-half penalty as Iceland held on for a famous draw.

Iceland Team Form

Iceland have not won in five matches, like Nigeria, but their draw with Argentina was their second in a row – and the third consecutive game in which Alfred Finnbogason has scored. His goal against Ghana in Iceland’s final warm-up match actually put them 2-0 up at the time, but they ended up drawing 2-2. Prior to that, they led 2-1 with ten minutes play against Norway but two late goals saw them succumb to their third straight defeat – having lost 3-0 to Mexico and 3-1 to Peru in March.

Iceland Predicted Starting Line up

Expected Line up: 4-4-1-1

Iceland claimed a point against group favourites Argentina in their opening game and now have a very real chance of bagging a last-16 place at their second consecutive major tournament. Nigeria have lost four of their last five games and, while Iceland are in poor form results-wise too, the draw with Argentina will lift morale in the Icelandic camp and they can use that to inspire their first ever World Cup match success.

Nigeria have lost four of their last five matches following the defeat to Croatia, and they have scored just two goals in that time.