BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Near-consistent World Cup combatants, Nigeria and Argentina will next month clash in a friendly duel in Russia ahead of the World Cup Draw holding in Moscow in  December.

According to a release by the Media Department of the Nigeria Football Federation, Super Eagles who are three time African champion and conquerors of current African champions, Cameroon, will face two-time World Cup holders, Argentina in Russian city of Krasnodar on Tuesday November 14.

Sports Village Square recalls that a Nigeria-Argentina fixture is one of the most common match-up in the FIFA World Cup since the USA ‘94. Apart from France ’98, both teams met in every World Cup finals they both qualified.

This is one of the highest profiled friendly matches Nigeria ever arraigned in preparation for World Cup. Overall, the November match will be the eighth overall for the two countries but the third in terms of friendly matches.

According to the NFF media release, the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi remarked that nearly all arrangements have been concluded with regards to the big match, subject to approval by world football –ruling body, FIFA and agreeable flight arrangements.

“We have had long and fruitful talks, and we can say that we have an agreement. We await the approval by FIFA and also, we have to agree on the flight arrangements that would be comfortable for the players and crew.

“The match will come up on 14^th November, four days after the Super Eagles’ final 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match away to Algeria. We had offers from teams like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Morocco but we have opted for the Argentines,” Sanusi said.

The Eagles take on Algeria’s Fennecs in what is no more than an academic exercise, at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui in Constantine on Friday, 10^th November. On that same day, Argentina will be taking on Russia in a friendly match.

Nigeria and Argentina played two high –profile friendly matches in 2011, the first in Abuja in June ending 4-1 in favour of the Super Eagles. The Albiceleste trumped the second encounter 3-1 in Dhaka, Bangladesh three months later.

NFF’s FIFA Match Agent Jairo Pachon of Eurodata Sport, who also organized the friendly matches with the Argentines in 2011 and has been working hard for various Nigerian National Teams in the areas of training camps and friendly games since 2009, told thenff.com: “We are very pleased to be able to deliver such a high –profile game to celebrate the Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup qualification.

“It was a lot of work over the past week but we are happy this has become reality. We will, in due course, reveal the Nigerian sponsor of the match who will have the match rights in Nigeria.”

While Argentina qualified for Russia on the final day of the South American qualification campaign, the Super Eagles have reached Russia with a match to spare.

Nigeria have had to confront Argentina in four of its previous five FIFA World Cup appearances, starting with a 1-2 defeat in Boston, USA in the African team’s debut in 1994. Argentina won another group phase clash 1-0 in Ibaraki, Japan in 2002, won a similar encounter by the same margin in Johannesburg, South Africa eight years later and then edged the Eagles 3-2 in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2014.

The only time both teams played a draw was the goalless outing in Saudi Arabia during the then Intercontinental Cup which is now renamed the FIFA Confederations Cup. Both have also met twice in the Olympic Games with Nigeria winning in 1996 to become the first non-European country to win the gold medal of the football event of the Olympics in 68 years. Twelve years later, they both met again in the final match of Beijing Olympics. Argentina won 1-0.