Argentina defeats Nigeria.

There was a lot on the line in the Group F finale between Argentina and Nigeria in Porto Alegre, but in the end both teams went through to the knockout phase.It wound up 3-2 for Argentina, a match that could fairly be called both the Lionel Messi Show and the Ahmed Musa Show. Each player scored twice, turning in superb performances.Messi needed only two minutes 26 seconds to tally, powering home the rebound of a shot that rang off the Nigerian post. But only 1:20 later, Musa blasted home a shot at the other end, and it was 1-1.Messi struck again with a lovely free kick over the wall and under the crossbar a minute into

first-half stoppage time
. But just two minutes into the second half, Musa countered once more. He accepted a relay, burst into the Argentina box and slotted the ball home.The deciding goal came shortly after that, in the 50th minute, when Argentina defender Marcos Rojo deflected a corner kick in off his knee. That closed the scoring at 3-2.The Albicelestes, playing in a stadium packed with Argentine fans, started the match certain of advancing to the knockout stage. To advance, the Super Eagles needed either a point vs. Argentina, or for Iran to fail to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in Salvador. With Bosnia defeating Iran by 3-1, Nigeria went through.In the next round, Argentina and Nigeria will face France, Ecuador, Switzerland or Honduras, depending on the outcome of the Group E matches being played later this afternoon.