I watched all of the Iran and Nigeria game, but I really don't have a whole lot to say about it. Basically, Nigeria had, by far, most of the possession, but wasn't able to complete crosses or passes within the box. At one point, the TV showed a graphic that said that Nigeria had completed 3 of 24 passes within the box, and 0 of 19 crosses.
I suspect the percentage improved over the rest of the game, but not by much.
Basically, Nigeria kept bringing it down, and turning it over in the box (or it would be cleared easily). There were very few chances in the game. In fact, Iran probably had the best chance on an in-close shot that the goalie blocked out, and which the defense was (barely) able to clear quickly.
But that was about the limit of Iran's threats, as the Nigerian players were faster and taller than the persians, meaning that they needed to be pinpoint-precise (no passes into space), and they weren't.
But thanks to those passing issues, Nigeria couldn't do much either. Neither team had all that many chances, so the 0-0 final probably shouldn't be hugely surprising.
I don't know how predictively accurate the play was; if it was predictive, then there's a decent chance that neither one advances. But if it wasn't, then both of them have a decent chance (especially given the standings-point advantage both teams have over Bosnia-Herzegovina). We'll see.
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