Group F of the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

consisted of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Play began on 15 June and ended on 25 June 2014. The top two teams, Argentina and Nigeria, advanced to the round of 16.

Teams

;Notes

Standings

*Argentina advanced to play

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(runner-up of Group E) in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. *Nigeria advanced to play

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(winner of Group E) in the

Matches

Argentina vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

The two teams had met in two previous matches, both in friendlies, most recently in 2013, both won by Argentina. Bosnia and Herzegovina conceded three minutes into their World Cup debut, when

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

's free kick from the left was flicked on by

Marcos Rojo Faustino Marcos Alberto Rojo (born 20 March 1990) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defender for Boca Juniors and the Argentina national team. Rojo began his career at local club Estudiantes de La Plata, where he won the C ...

and bounced off

Sead Kolašinac Sead Kolašinac (; born 20 June 1993) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Kolašinac started his professional career at Schalke 04, playing fir ...

into the net for an own goal. In the second half, Messi played a one-two with substitute

Gonzalo Higuaín Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín (; born 10 December 1987) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''El Pipita'' or ''Pipa'', Higuaín was a prolific striker, known for his eye for goal, strong physique, and o ...

and shot home from the edge of the penalty area with his left foot into the bottom-right corner. With five minutes remaining in normal time, Bosnia and Herzegovina pulled one back, when

Senad Lulić Senad Lulić (; born 18 January 1986) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Lulić started his professional career at Chur 97, before joining Bellinzona in 2006. Two years later, he switched to Grasshoppers. I ...

's pass found substitute

Vedad Ibišević Vedad Ibišević (; born 6 August 1984) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently assistant head coach of Hertha BSC. Ibišević started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He had a two-year ...

to score the country's first ever World Cup goal, shooting under the goalkeeper with his left foot. Kolašinac's own goal after two minutes and nine seconds broke the record for the fastest

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

in the history of the FIFA World Cup, surpassing

Carlos Gamarra Carlos Alberto Gamarra Pavón () (born 17 February 1971) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He captained the Paraguay national team at international level and was for a long time the most capped player ...

's own goal (two minutes and 46 seconds) in Paraguay's first group stage match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

Iran vs Nigeria

The two teams had met in one previous match, in the 1998

Lunar New Year Cup The Lunar New Year Cup, previously known as the Carlsberg Challenge or the Carlsberg Cup, is an annual invitational football tournament organised in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) since 1908. It is usually held on the firs ...

, won 1–0 by Nigeria. In a goalless game of few chances, Iran's

Reza Ghoochannejhad Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia ( fa, رضا قوچان‌نژاد نورنیا; born 20 September 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also known as Gucci in Belgium and Netherlands. Having played for the Nether ...

forced a save from

Vincent Enyeama Vincent Enyeama (born 29 August 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Despite his below-average height for a goalkeeper, he is popularly regarded as one of the greatest African goalkeepers of all time a ...

in the first half, while Nigeria substitute

Shola Ameobi Foluwashola Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent 14 years at Newcastle United, making 397 official appearances and scoring 79 goals, and received a winner's medal when the ...

headed wide in the second half. This was the first goalless match as well as the first draw of the tournament after the previous 12 matches all produced a winner, and was the longest wait for a draw in a single tournament since

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

, where there were no draws in the entire tournament. This was also the first clean sheet kept by Iran in the World Cup.

Argentina vs Iran

The two teams had met in one previous match, in a friendly in 1977, won on penalties by Argentina after a 1–1 draw . In a match where Argentina dominated in terms of possession and shots, they scored the only goal one minute into second half injury time when

received a pass from

Ezequiel Lavezzi Ezequiel Iván Lavezzi (; born 3 May 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a forward. During his career, his most important attributes were his pace, hardworking style of play, technique, creativity, and dribbling abi ...

on the right wing, dribbled inside and curled a left-footed shot past the outstretched hands of the Iranian keeper

Alireza Haghighi Alireza Haghighi ( fa, , born 6 May 1988) is an Iranian goalkeeper who plays for the Iranian based team Nassaji. Club career Persepolis Having joined the senior squad of Persepolis at the age of 16, he made his debut in the match against Saipa ...

. Before the goal, Iran had chances to score, but Argentina goalkeeper

Sergio Romero Sergio Germán Romero (; born 22 February 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Boca Juniors. He has also played for the Argentina national team. Romero made his debut with Racing Club in the Argentin ...

was able to save

Ashkan Dejagah Seyed Ashkan Dejagah ( fa, سید اشكان دژآگه, born 5 July 1986), known as Ashkan Dejagah, is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Persian Gulf Pro League club Foolad. He represented Germany at youth level ...

's header and

's shot, and Dejagah also had a penalty appeal turned down when Argentina defender

Pablo Zabaleta Pablo Javier Zabaleta Girod (; born 16 January 1985) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a right back. Zabaleta could operate on both sides of the pitch as a full-back and was known for his tenacious style of play, an ...

tackled him in the area but only just got his toe to the ball. With the win, Argentina were guaranteed to advance to the knockout stage.

Nigeria vs Bosnia and Herzegovina

The two teams had never met before. Bosnia and Herzegovina thought they had taken the lead when

Edin Džeko Edin Džeko (; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan and captains the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Džeko was named Bosnian Footballer of the Year for three years in a ...

put the ball into the net, but his effort was ruled out for offside, which replays later showed to be an incorrect decision. Referee Peter O'Leary later admitted Džeko's goal was disallowed in error. Seven minutes later, Nigeria took the lead when

Emmanuel Emenike Emmanuel Chinenye Emenike (born 10 May 1987) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a striker. He most recently played for Belgian club Westerlo. Club career Delta Force F.C. Emenike started his football career with Delta Force. At t ...

burst past Emir Spahić to cross for

Peter Odemwingie Peter Osaze Odemwingie (born 15 July 1981) is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. Odemwingie grew up in Uzbekistan and Russia and began his career with Bendel Insurance in the Nigeria Premier League. ...

to score, firing in through the legs of Asmir Begovic. Džeko came closest to scoring the equaliser to keep his team's qualification chances alive, but his shot in second-half stoppage time was deflected onto the post by Nigeria goalkeeper

. Nigeria held for the win and eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result.

Nigeria vs Argentina

The two teams had met in six previous matches, including three times in the FIFA World Cup group stage, all won by Argentina (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

: 2–1;

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

: 1–0;

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 1–0). Before the match, Nigeria were the only team yet to concede in the tournament, but their defence were breached inside three minutes when

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the Argentina national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Di María began his career with R ...

's shot hit the post and

slammed home the rebound. Nigeria, which would qualify for the knockout stage if they gained a point or if Iran failed to beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other match, equalised within a minute, when Michel Babatunde fed

Ahmed Musa Ahmed Musa (born 14 October 1992) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward and left winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Sivasspor and the Nigeria national team. Musa became the first Nigerian to score more than once in a F ...

, and he cut inside and curled the ball into the net. Messi put Argentina in front in first half injury time with a direct free kick, but Musa equalised once again early in the second half, after playing a one-two with

and scored. Argentina, which needed only a point to win the group, then scored the game winner when a corner from

was flicked on by an

Ezequiel Garay Ezequiel Marcelo Garay González (; born 10 October 1986) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He started his career with Newell's Old Boys but moved to Spain at the age of 19, going on to amass La Li ...

header and

scored with his knee. Argentina won the group with a perfect record of three wins out of three, while Nigeria were able to qualify as group runners-up despite losing as Iran also lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other match. Musa became the first Nigerian player to score more than once in a World Cup match.

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iran

The two teams had met in five previous matches, all in friendlies, most recently in 2009. Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had already been eliminated, led 1–0 at half-time through a goal by

, shooting low with his left foot after he received a pass from

Miralem Pjanić Miralem Pjanić (born 2 April 1990) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Sharjah and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Pjanić started his professional career at Metz being there for one ...

. Pjanić extended the lead in the second half when he slotted low past the goalkeeper, after receiving a through ball from Tino-Sven Sušić. Iran, which had to win and also hoped Nigeria lost to Argentina to have any chance for qualification to the knockout stage, reduced the deficit after

tapped home from close range from a

Javad Nekounam Javad Nekounam ( fa, جواد نکونام; born 7 September 1980) is an Iranian retired professional association football, footballer who played as a central midfielder and is the current manager (association football), manager of Foolad F.C., F ...

cross. However, Bosnia and Herzegovina scored a third goal when Avdija Vršajević slotted home with his right foot after

Sejad Salihović Sejad Salihović (; born 8 October 1984) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays for 1899 Hoffenheim II. He spent most of his career playing for 1899 Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga. He also played for Hertha BSC, Beijing Renhe, St. ...

played him in on the right, sealing their first win in World Cup finals history, and also confirming Iran's elimination, meaning that they failed to advance to the knockout stage for all four of their World Cup campaigns. With Ghoochannejhad's goal for Iran, the 2014 World Cup became the first since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

in which every participating team managed to score at least once.

References

External links

2014 FIFA World Cup Group F
FIFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Group F Group F

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Iran at the 2014 FIFA World Cup