Nigeria Holds On for Win Over Bosnia

Nigeria Holds On for Win Over Bosnia

Nigeria kept its hopes alive of reaching the knockout round and won its first World Cup game since 1998 with a 1-0 decision over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba

Nigeria ended its World Cup drought and kept its hopes alive of reaching the knockout round and won its first World Cup game since 1998 with a 1-0 decision over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba.

Nigeria's Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal of the Group F match in the first half. Odemwingie fed Emmanuel Emenike on the right wing and raced into the box to receive the striker's low return before sweeping the ball under goalkeeper Asmir Begovic. The Bosnian bench angrily protested that Emenike had fouled Emir Spahic as he ran past him into the box before making his cross.

Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko had a goal disallowed due to a questionable offside call in the first half. His strike in the final seconds of the match hit the goal post.

"We were aware of the 16-year gap with no wins for our country," Odemwingie said. "This is very exciting for us and very important, too, as the fans were disappointed by our previous performance."

Bosnia, making its first World Cup appearance, was eliminated from the tournament.

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"Nigeria Holds On for Win Over Bosnia "