At the fifth time of asking a Celtic player finally enjoyed a World Cup win as Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 last night to keep alive their hopes of reaching the last 16.
With Fraser Forster on his way home after England face Costa Rica on Tuesday and Emilio Izaguirre requiring a Honduras win over Switzerland while France beat Ecuador it looks like Efe Ambrose will be left flying the Celtic flag as the tournament switches to knock out.
Ambrose played the full 90 minutes on the day that Africa made it’s presence felt with Ghana fully deserving a point from their 2-2 draw with Germany in the match before Nigeria beat Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks to a goal from Stoke City’s Peter Odemwingie.
A draw in Wednesday’s final group match against Argentina will see Nigeria into the last 16 while a defeat coupled with anything other than an Iran victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina will also be good enough to keep Ambrose in Brazil.
After last night’s victory Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi said: “Everybody is happy in west Africa; Ghana got their result and we won. It’s good for the continent. The fighting spirit we showed was good. I never thought that we wouldn’t make the Round of 16. I have the players. But look at Iran today, if it was not for Lionel Messi. We need to work hard for the game against Argentina.
Goalscorer Odemwingie added: “The goal means a lot to me but the win was down to 90 minutes of concentration and effort from my team-mates.
“The most important thing today was the character. We even enjoyed defending together. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love this country. Playing for my fatherland is an honour and a pleasure.
“What better way to come back than playing in a World Cup. Being back with my fiends made me happy. I didn’t expect to come back and score a winner in such an important game, but I’m very happy. But this was a point the team earned. Right now I’m so high on our team’s performance.”
