June 20: Eagles' diary at the World Cup

The  2nd round of the 2018 World Cup Group Stage is already underway. Rúben Dias' Portugal beat Morocco by 1-0, with a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo (4’). Salvio's Argentina plays at 7:00 pm on Thursday; Ebuehi's Nigeria faces Iceland and Zivkovic (Serbia) and Seferovic (Switzerland) lock horns on Friday.

Here is the 2nd round of the  World Cup! From the national teams with Benfica players on their roster, Portugal was the first to take the stage.

At 1:00 pm, at the Luzhniki Stadium, the kick-off of the match between Portugal and Morocco. The result was sealed at 4’, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the 1-0 that would remain unchanged until the final whistle. Hard mission… and the motto remains the same: “Conquer the Dream.”

Portugal used the alternative kit (white), with Rúben Dias, as it had happened in the opening round (3-3 against Spain), being an unused substitute.

With 4 points amassed, in the final round of Group B Portugal faces Iran, a national team led by Queiroz. This match is scheduled for 7:00 pm next Monday, June 25, at the Mordovia Arena, in Saransk.

Group D begins the 2nd round of the World Cup in the next two days, Salvio’s plays on Thursday and Nigeria from Ebuehi plays on Friday.

Argentina registered a draw against Iceland (Salvio played the 90 minutes); Nigeria was defeated by Croatia … there is only one way to continue dreaming with the next stage: to win!

Argentina plays at 7:00 pm on June 21, at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, against the leader Croatia.

The Argentinean nation was not pleased with the start of its national team and demands more from the players led by Sampaoli. According to cogitations on the Press and on the Social Networks, Argentina will field a different starting XI from the one in the opening match, using three centre-backs. Salvio continues to mentioned as a starter.

At the Press Conference, Sampaoli and Marcos Acunã previewed the match.

Great caution, respect, against a Croatia that is expected to be strong and betting on the counter-attack. The Argentine national coach admits he may change the formation, but without hindering the individual talent of each player. For Sampaoli the unity will make the difference, in a conversation with the journalists held on the Day of the Argentina Flag.

Nigéria plays on Friday against Iceland at 4:00 pm, at the Volgograd Arena.

Ebuehi was an unused substitute in the debut, with a defeat against Croatia, so Gernot Rohr is expected to make some changes in the system.

Odion Ighalo and Ndidi used the social networks to show the Nigerian ambition.

“We are working hard to put a smile on the Nigerians’ faces”, wrote the forward; “We are player, but, above all, we are Nigerians and we will give everything we got in the next match”, stated the midfielder..

In Group E, Serbia and Switzerland will lock horns on Friday, June 22, at 7:00 pm, at Kaliningrad Stadium, in other words, a clash between Zivkovic and Seferovic…

The midfielder (with a broken hand finger) was an unused substitute in the victory over Costa Rica; the forward played 80 minutes in the draw against Brazil.

The players trained hard, that was followed by a lunch at the restaurant in the region of Kaliningrad, in Svetlogorsk, the headquarters of the delegation.

In Togliatti, the Swiss national team continues working hard. Another day, another intense training session, with emphasis on the shooting accuracy.

Text: Sónia Antunes

Pics: FIFA / FPF / Twitter of the Nigeria, Serbia, Argentina, and Switzerland national teams.