When Enyeama and Messi shared an iconic moment at the World Cup

The rivalry between Nigeria and Argentina has been one that has long terrorized Nigerian fans. Argentina defeated the Super Eagles at the 1994 World Cup, and then again at the 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2018 World Cups. Although Nigeria’s youth teams have gotten the best of their Argentine counterparts at various youth competitions, the rivalry between the two countries at the senior level has been largely one-sided.

Flashback to the 2014 World Cup, when the two nations met in Porto Alegre, Brazil to contest  their third and final group-stage match. Argentina were already through to the knockout rounds after defeating Bosnia and Iran with relative ease. For Nigeria, however, their destiny was not set after only having four points.

The Super Eagles, led by the likes of Ahmed Musa, Joseph Yobo, and John Obi Mikel, posed the greatest challenge to the Argentines in the group stage - continuing their infamous rivalry.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the third minute after a freak deflection of goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s save on Angel Di Maria fell perfectly to the Barcelona star for him to smash it into the back of the net. 

Just a minute later, though, Ahmed Musa equalized the score in the fourth minute with a moment of individual brilliance. He cut in from the left side of the box before sending a rocket to the far post and into the back of the net. The Argentines were shocked.

Throughout the first half Super Eagles goalkeeper Enyeama was being constantly battered with shots from Argentina’s stars. He parried a long range strike from Di Maria before making an excellent save to deny Lionel Messi’s free kick that was bending into the top-right corner.

Unfortunately for Enyeama and the Super Eagles, he couldn’t stop Messi’s next free kick on the brink of half time - with the Argentine legend flaunting his brilliance on the world stage.

At half-time Enyeama was filmed imploring the referee to stop giving Messi free-kicks, saying:
"The guy is so good...and I'm s--t." The Nigerian got a laugh out of the referee but he responded saying “I know your job is very difficult”.

Musa equalized again when he converted after a one-two with strike partner Emmanuel Emenike just after half-time to send the fans watching into a frenzy. Just a few minutes later though Marcos Rojo got his foot on a headed ball after a corner and directed it into the back of the net, giving Enyeama no chance.

Enyeama and Messi battling it out at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In the 58th minute, with Argentina leading 3-2, Messi had a chance to double his side’s lead but put his first-touch effort just wide due to pressure from 20-year-old centre-back Kenneth Omeruo. As the players returned to their positions for their ensuing goal-kick, Enyeama shared a beautiful moment with the GOAT when he touched his neck pretending to check his pulse to see if Messi was human. It was a heart-warming moment as Enyeama was able to have some fun with the superstar despite the fact his team was losing.

Perhaps Enyeama and his team-mates took the pressure off as they knew Bosnia were defeating Iran, meaning that Nigeria would advance to the next round regardless of their result versus Argentina.

The two met four years earlier when Enyeama put up yet another heroic performance in the World Cup despite another loss to the South American powerhouses, so maybe the two were comfortable with each other.

But regardless, it was a great scene and one of the most memorable African moments in World Cup history.