France's midfielder Paul Pogba celebrates with team-mates after scoring the first goal. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Photograph: EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images
France's midfielder Paul Pogba celebrates with team-mates after scoring the first goal. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Photograph: EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images
And so France will play either Germany or Algeria in Rio on Friday. Nigeria were probably the better team until the hour mark, but the introduction of Antoine Griezmann changed the game. France pushed and pushed, and eventually Nigeria buckled. "Mexico yesterday and Nigeria today have demonstrated that it’s not enough to play well for 80 or 85 minutes," writes Peter Oh, who may or may not work in a shoe shop. "The Adidas advertisement has it right. It’s all in or nothing."
WHAT A FINISH! France 2-0 Nigeria (Griezmann 90 +1) (Yobo)
Nigeria concede possession again needlessly, Omeruo passing the ball back and out for a corner down the right. A quickly taken corner, and Benzema is rushing along the byline with the ball. He fires it low into the six-yard box, where Griezmann gets ahead of Yobo and Enyeama at the right-hand post, and flicks into the empty net. Perhaps Yobo helped that in himself. Hmm. Either way, Nigeria are going out.
Antoine Griezmann, Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama look at the ball as it rolls towards the goal. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
Its an own goal off the shin of Yobo and France are on their way to the quarter-final. Photograph: Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Photograph: FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images
90 min: Pogba wins a corner down the right. Benzema quickly loses possession, but Odemwingie passes the ball straight out of play on the other wing. Nigeria are making it very easy for France to close this game out. A lot of mistakes. But they'll have five extra minutes to work with, if they can get something going.
89 min: Gabriel is having a shocker in time-management terms. He's now clattered clumsily into the back of Matuidi. Time marches on. And Moses rushes off, to be replaced by Nwofor.
87 min: Gabriel, with time in the middle of his own half, dispatches the ball deep into the stand down the right. France enjoyed watching that, with the clock ticking the way clocks tick.
86 min: Corner for Nigeria, as Moses skitters in from the left and sees his cross deflected out to the right of goal by Debuchy. It struck the full back's hand, but there was no intent, and the players were very close together. But all that comes from the set piece is a quick French break, and Matuidi very nearly releases the non-stop Griezmann down the middle. Oshaniwa steps in to stem the tide.
84 min: Pogba launches a gorgeous long pass down the left channel. Griezmann, who has been excellent since coming on, takes the ball down and lashes a rising diagonal shot towards the top-right corner from 20 yards or so. Enyeama tips over spectacularly, and Mikel heads the resulting corner clear.
81 min: Musa hoicks a bouncing ball into the French box, with the view to starting a stramash. But the ball breaks to Lloris, who smothers. Still plenty of time, no need to get so desperate yet.
GOAL!!! WHICH HAD BEEN COMING! France 1-0 Nigeria (Pogba 79)
When it came, it was so simple. Valbuena whips the ball towards the far post from the left. Enyeama, normally so reliable, flaps for the second time this afternoon. This time it could be fatal to Nigerian hopes, because he only helps it on to Pogba, standing clear six yards out, who can't miss. And doesn't, heading into the unguarded net.
Pogba heads the ball past Vincent Enyeama for the first goal. Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Images
He celebrates the goal scored after 79 minutes. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
78 min: France are getting closer and closer! A free kick from the right by Valbuena, and Benzema heads powerfully goalwards from a central position, six yards out. But Enyeama tips over! What a save. However, the keeper's joy is short lived, because ...
76 min: ... no goal. But how close France are getting! The ball's fired over by Valbuena to Benzema near the right-hand post. He brings the ball down and fizzes a low shot goalwards. Mikel hacks clear, the last man on the goalline. Another last-ditch clearance! And then the ball drops to Cabaye, 25 yards out on the right. He takes a touch to set himself, then batters a curling, dipping shot onto the underside of the bar near the left-hand post! The ball bounces down rather than in, and is walloped clear.
75 min: A tense atmosphere now in the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha. Nigeria's fans are perhaps more tense, with France finally gaining a foothold in this second half. Griezmann finds a bit of space down the left, and his low cross is punched away in an uncertain fashion by Enyeama. The ball's eventually bundled out for a corner, which Omeruo is forced to head out for another corner. From which ...
Oshaniwa clips the ball away from Paul Pogba as he was about to shoot. France are beginning to exert pressure on the Nigerians. Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Photograph: Jeff Gross/Getty Images
73 min: Griezmann has made a difference. He's scuttling around the Nigerians' feet, dragging the defence this way and that. A little backflick to Benzema, and the striker's in space. He wallops a low shot inches wide of the left-hand post.
70 min: GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE! Benzema exchanges a brisk one-two with Griezmann down the inside-left channel. Suddenly, having produced nothing for ages, France look like taking the lead! Benzema is one on one with the keeper, and dinks the ball over him. But Enyeama sticks up an arm and takes a little pace off the ball, which allows Moses to come and acrobatically hook the ball clear off the line! He's been poor in attack, Moses, but there's a goal's worth of credit right there! Brilliant play all round. France, for a second, suddenly looked like genuine World Cup contenders again.
Karim Benzema chips the ball over Vincent Enyeama... Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Photograph: FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
...but Victor Moses is in the right place to clear. Photograph: Dennis Sabangan/EPA Photograph: DENNIS SABANGAN/EPA
69 min: But Nigeria are soon coming back at France, Musa making good down the right and fizzing a low ball into the area which Koscielny dispatches into the crowd behind the goal. Once again, the corner is an abject disgrace, flying straight through the area. Does Odemwingie not practice these?
66 min:France finally get a move together, Griezmann whipping a ball into the area from the left. Enyeama, against character, flaps at the far post, the ball nearly dropping to Pogba, who is shaping to shoot from eight yards. Oshaniwa contorts his body in mid air and just about manages to hack clear.
64 min: France haven't achieved much since the restart. Griezmann goes on a wander down the left, but is quickly stopped in his tracks. Nigeria romp down the pitch, sending the very lively Odemwingie into space down the right. He cuts inside, drops a shoulder, then dummies past a second defender, before unleashing a low blast towards the bottom right. Lloris is down well to block, and France clear. A fine save, because that shot was travelling.
57 min: Odemwingie hurls a throw-in into the French box. Koscielny heads behind for a corner. Varane heads Odemwingie's corner clear, but the ball's soon shuttled back to the very busy Odemwingie, who crosses aimlessly having been given time down the right wing. Not bad pressure seeing Nigeria are still down to ten men, having not decided who should replace Onazi, who is away down the tunnel on the stretcher!
55 min: Matuidi is quite rightly booked for a terrible challenge on Onazi, stamping on his instep. He's loaded up onto the stretcher for a second time in this match. This one looks serious, though the last one did too, of course. That was clumsy and late, rather than malicious, and Matuidi to his credit accepted his punishment with hands high in surrender mode, knowing full well he'd timed that one badly.
Referee Mark W Geiger shows the yellow card to France's midfielder Blaise Matuidi after a bad challenge on Ogenyi Onazi. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Photograph: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images
53 min: Varane has the magic sponge dabbed on his face for a while, after coming together with Emenike in his own area, Moses having caused a little bother down the right. The striker was offside, and Varane is OK after his little refreshing wipe.
Raphael Varane is assisted by Mathieu Debuchy as lies hurt in the net. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
47 min: Odemwingie plays a delightful first-time pass down the right wing to release Moses into space. Moses makes it into the area, but his low cross is deflected out by Koscielny. The corner doesn't even clear the first man. The set pieces have been appalling, on the whole, the only complaint one could make about this match so far. Or is it? "I find interesting that you consider the match excellent (albeit the lack of goals)," writes João André. "I am watching it on german TV and the comment at the end was how disappointing it was. I can understand both: the English found it exciting, the German too chaotic. Maybe this helps explain the why Germany is successful in international football and England is not." Yeah, maybe. As a Scotland fan, I don't care either way. Though I don't understand how folk not allowing themselves to enjoy a breezy, open, end-to-end game, even if it is littered with mistakes, has any effect on the ineptitude levels of their nation's footballers. I must start taking football more seriously. Very seriously indeed.
And we're off again! No changes. France get the ball rolling. Soon enough, Giroud is making a nuisance of himself down the left, yapping at Odemwingie's heels, the Nigerian striker having chased back to mop up a loose ball. Giroud races off with the ball, but his cross into the box is far too strong, with only Debuchy on the far wing anywhere near it. Another brisk start by the French.
HALF-TIME ENTERTAINMENT: "I’m an unashamed fan of the Pet Shop Boys and have spent most of the first half singing 'Ahmed Musa and Debuchy to a disco beat'," writes Aidan O'Keefe. "I bet every other PSB fan, 'from Lake Geneva to the Finland Station', is doing the same." Here you are, then, Aidan, we can't have you suffering for the rest of the match from earworm. You'll have the CD already, of course, but it should save you from getting up off the couch and finding it.
That's an excellent half of football. All it needed was a goal or two. And so nearly got them. Never mind. Both teams have sparkled in attack; both have done what needs to be done at the back, just about. But you wouldn't risk the mortgage on either of them. Unpredictable and entertaining, just how the World Cup should be. Another 45 minutes of this, please! Plus 30 of extra time if needs be!
Paul Pogba came closest for France in the first half. Photograph: Fernando Bizerra Jr/EPA Photograph: FERNANDO BIZERRA JR/EPA
45 min +2: Just before the end of added time, France hoick a simple up-and-under free kick into the box. Hoof! A bit of head tennis, and Koscielny might be ready to send the ball whistling goalwards, but Enyeama fingertips away, and the referee blows for excessive pushing on France's part anyway.
44 min: Now it's Lloris's turn to make a stunning save! Mikel shuttles the ball down the right for Emenike, who drifts inside before whacking a purposeful shot towards the top left. Lloris is behind it to parry strongly, all he could reasonably do, such was the pace of the effort. The ball rebounds to Moses, who miscontrols and handles while he's at it.
Hugo Lloris punches clear as Giroud manhandles Odemwingie. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Photograph: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
42 min: Evra is busy down the left, and his incessant pressure forces Mikel to slice wildly into the air. Fortunately, despite being under pressure, Enyeama leaps to collect without fuss. "Amazing goalkeeping in this tournament," writes Ore Popoola, who is very correct and can preach on. "Who do you think is the goalkeeper of the tournament so far? Keylor Navas, Guillermo Ochoa or Vincent Enyeama?" Heroes all. But I can't clear my head to make a decision. All I can suddenly think about is Joe Hart, repeatedly nearly beaten at his near post from corner kicks.
40 min: Valbuena and Debuchy combine down the inside-right, a good old-fashioned one-two. The latter slams a shot from 12 yards just right of goal. The nearest anyone's come to a goal, because unlike Pogba's magnificent volley, Eneyeama was never getting to that.
38 min: Oshaniwa curls a long pass down the left wing and nearly releases Musa into the area. Varane is forced to batter the ball behind for a corner. The set piece flies over everyone's head and out for a goal kick on the right. But Evra receives a little lecture from the referee, having been a bit hands on with Odemwingie. Strange, the way referees do this. He was either fouling him, or he wasn't. Anyway, Evra's doing some of his top-drawer scowling, I'm not convinced he totally agrees with the ref's analysis.
35 min: Pogba looks highly dangerous every time he receives possession. First he twists and turns on the edge of the D before attempting to release Valbuena down the right with a diagonal scoop. Not quite, as Nigeria swarm around the Frenchman. Then Pogba tries to open up Nigeria with a sliderule pass into the box from deep down the right channel, but Matuidi has gone too early, and there's a bit too much pace on the ball as well.
33 min: Perhaps the quietest minute since kick off, as France ping it around the middle in a very patient manner. Eventually the ball bounds through the Nigerian area from left to right, and finds Debuchy in space, 12 yards out, just to the right of goal. The full back lashes a wild effort deep into the stand. Skelp! I think after those 60 seconds of mellow, we're safely back in Manic mode now.
29 min: Giroud is flinging his arms around in the extravagant style. He is French, I suppose. But those elbows are flying very close to Mikel's face! The referee has a word, Giroud might have scraped one in Mikel's boat, but there doesn't seem to be any vicious intent. Still, careful with those, will you! Meanwhile, unlike kick-off's Simon McMahon, Phil Sawyer is not off to France on Thursday. "I do, however, have France in the sweepstake at work," he writes, "so I got myself into the spirit of things today by having some brie and grapes at lunch time. Has your other reader ever made a more desultory attempt to demonstrate their support for a team? Incidentally, my support should ensure les Bleus go crashing out tonight. Perhaps best that I'm not off to France on Thursday."
Olivier Giroud puts himself about but without too much end product. Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Photograph: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
26 min: Ambrose and Moses again down the right, the former winning a corner off Evra, who is frowning quite a lot. Nobody furrows their brow with as much intensity as Evra. France clear the set piece fairly easily, which should ease the strain on their under-pressure left-back's facial muscles if nowt else.
24 min: Moses and Ambrose take turns to worry France down the right, after Nigeria escape from the aforementioned double-corner hell on a quick break. They win a corner, and waste it. Good luck in calling who's going to open the scoring here. Or indeed close it. It's a marvellous end-to-end spectacle. Both teams are well up for this.
22 min: WHAT A SAVE! Pogba in acres down the middle of the park. He sweeps a pass out right to Valbuena, who returns it hard into the middle. Pogba, on the edge of the box, meets the ball first time and batters a stunning shot towards the top right. It's in all the way, but Enyeama arcs his back to tip away brilliantly! That is astonishing goalkeeping, because Pogba creamed that. The resulting corner leads to another corner, which leads to naught, but this is all about the shot.
Vincent Enyeama makes a great save from Paul Pogba's shot. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters Photograph: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS
Enyeama tipped the ball away brilliantly to keep the score 0-0. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters Photograph: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS
19 min: GOAL DISALLOWED! Ambrose whips a ball into the area from the right. Debuchy, at the far post, heads clear, but poorly. Musa takes possession up down the left, and curls one into the area. On the edge of the six-yard box, Emenike sticks a leg out and pokes the cross-cum-shot, heading for the bottom-right-hand corner, into the bottom left! It's a brilliant finish, but the flag goes up for offside. I think he might just have been off, but it'd be worth looking at again, because Evra was a step behind the rest of his defence over on the right, and may well have been playing the man onside. Either way, it's tight enough that you'd expect the attackers to get the benefit of the doubt. But no.
Emmanuel Emenike puts the ball in the back of the net... Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
...but he is just offside. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters Photograph: DAVID GRAY/REUTERS
16 min: Odemwingie battles for the ball in the middle of the park, 30 yards out. He's bundled over. The free kick is pretty poor, Emenike aiming top right but battering his shot miles wide and far too high. In better news for Nigeria, Onazi is back on.
14 min: Cabaye brushes Musa to the floor down the left. Free kick. Odemwingie whistles it to the far post, where Mikel directs a header vertically, allowing Lloris to collect easily. France flood upfield, Giroud looking for the top left from the edge of the area but not getting anywhere near with his shot.
13 min: Onazi - who broke his team-mate Michael Babatunde's arm with a shot against Argentina - looks in trouble himself now after twisting his knee in an innocent coming together with Pogba. He's scrunching up his eyes in order to forget the pain. It looks dodgy. He's carted off ... though perhaps there's some hope. He's up off the stretcher and testing his leg out. Let's see.
10 min: A lot of scrappy midfield play, though it's the sort that sets up quick breaks, rather than your common-or-garden turgid ineptitude. A misplaced pass from Benzema sees Onazi run at Koscielny down the inside-right, but confuses himself mid-run and doesn't know whether to attempt to circumvent the defender to the left or right. Clank! Then Mikel presents the ball to Matuidi, but the resulting rococo ramble takes France nowhere. A really open game; it just needs a couple of crucial passes to find feet.
8 min: Pogba with a bit of space in the middle of the park. He looks to zip a pass down the left-hand channel to release Benzema. If the delivery was more accurate, the striker would have been able to collect and power through on goal. But Pogba's pass fizzes straight to Oshaniwa. Already evidence that neither of these defences can be totally relied upon.
6 min: Mikel slides the ball down the right for Ambrose, who is in a wee bit of space. The ball's whipped to the far post. Odemwingie can take the ball down, which he does, only not very well. Having taken a rather clumpish touch, Varane is able to blooter free. But that was a half-chance to get a shot away, had Odemwingie looked sharper.
5 min: Corner to France now, after a purposeful skitter from Matuidi down the left. Giroud meets the set piece, but clanks a header well wide. Neither side appears to be of a mind to die wondering. This is bright and breezy stuff.
3 min: But the first corner of the match goes to Nigeria, Koscielny forced to head a ball coming in from the right behind for a corner, under pressure from Odemwingie. The set piece, aimed towards Yobo at the near post, comes to nothing, but this is a nice open start.
2 min: A right old atmosphere in the stadium. Valbuena down the right flicks a clever little ball inside to Debuchy, who from his position at full back bombs with purpose down the wing. But he's bundled to the floor, fairly, by the shoulder of the backtracking Musa. Then Pogba makes good down the same wing, firing a low pass across the front of the Nigerian area. The toe of Yobo ensures the ball doesn't reach Benzema in a dangerous position on the left-hand edge of the area. A lively start by the French.
And we're off! Nigeria get the ball rolling. "I leave for France on Thursday," writes Simon McMahon. But don't worry, readers, he hasn't mistaken this MBM report for popular online solipsism enhancer Twitter. He's after a favour. "I need them to still be in the tournament for the last eight so I can soak up some atmosphere. Can you see to it please? 5-4 preferably." Ah now, it'd be unfair for me to try to jinx one team over the other. But I can at least see if we can get us a high-scoring thriller. GUARDIAN EXPERT PREDICTION: No goals!
How the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha looks before kick off in Brasilia. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP
The teams are out! France switch from their famous deep-sea blue to white shirts, while Nigeria sport their renowned lime green gear. And so to the national music. We've heard all the anthems by now. Probably time to mix it up a bit. Here's some classic French 1960s beatnik music ...
… and some mellow 1970s Nigerian rock.
Although while we're on the subject of national anthems, it's probably worth mentioning that La Marseillaise is the only one to have ever been nominated in the best music category at the Oscars. (As far as I know, which admittedly is not a great distance.) Casablanca, in 1944, since you ask; a large whack of the score was based around it.
France make six changes after taking some downtime against Honduras, with Olivier Giroud recalled and Yohan Cabaye back from suspension: Lloris, Debuchy, Varane, Koscielny, Evra, Pogba, Cabaye, Matuidi, Valbuena, Giroud, Benzema. Subs: Ruffier, Landreau, Sakho, Cabella, Griezmann, Mavuba, Mangala, Sagna, Digne, Sissoko, Remy, Schneiderlin.
Nigeria make one enforced change, with Victor Moses replacing Michael Babatunde, who broke his left wrist against Argentina (or had it broken for him by a shot from the Gigi Riva de nos jours, his own team-mate Ogenyi Onazi): Enyeama, Ambrose, Yobo, Oshaniwa, Omeruo, Musa, Onazi, Mikel, Moses, Odemwingie, Emenike. Subs: Ejide, Agbim, Uzoenyi, Gabriel, Egwuekwe, Odunlami, Oboabona, Azeez, Nwofor, Uchebo, Ameobi.
The French record at the World Cup is - appropriately enough for a country oft-accused of being more interested in pushbike races than good old soccer - cyclical. Here's how they roll. In 1930, Lucien Laurent scored the first-ever World Cup goal in a 4-1 win over Mexico; having blazed a trail, they didn't score at all in their next two matches, and went home. France made the quarter finals in 1938; they didn't bother turning up to Brazil in 1950. Third place in 1958! They didn't qualify in 1962. The glory days of the 1980s, when they finished fourth and third, were followed by a miserable start to the 1990s, with failure to qualify in 1990 and 1994. The world champions of 1998 were dumped out of the group stage in 2002. And the brave nearly men of 2006 stank the place out like never before in 2010, a performance which would have put Le Pétomane to shame.
Leonard Rossiter, who once played Le Pétomane on film but we don't have a photo of that to hand, so here he is as Rigsby, failing as ever to woo Miss Jones Photograph: Allstar/ITC/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
The French farce of 2010 has proved good news for les Bleus in 2014, so far. Nobody was seriously proselytising for France at the start of the tournament, but they're seen as serious contenders now, having seen off Honduras, obliterated Switzerland, and then against Ecuador ... well, two out of three ain't bad. Their form is simply fine and dandy: in the last 12 months, they've only lost one match, a 2-0 defeat against Ukraine in the qualification play-offs, and even that led to a feelgood, Mamadou Sakho-inspired 3-0 turnaround in Paris four days afterwards. Karim Benzema has been one of the stars of the tournament, the midfield looks powerful, the defence is slowly taking shape and gaining confidence, and the squad offers plenty of strength in depth. And, again, they were bloody awful four years ago. Magnifique! It's cyclical! It's on!
But hold those horses! Because Nigeria may give France good reason to think on this afternoon. For a start, history is not necessarily France's friend. True, on the last five occasions France have got out of the group - 1958, 1982, 1986, 1998 and 2006 - they've made it to the semi-finals at least. But they've lost two of their last three World Cup games against African teams, against Senegal in 2002 and South Africa last time round. They'll be hoping the cyclical thing applies here, too: having beaten South Africa in 1998 and Togo in 2006, it's technically their turn, superstitiously speaking. But a mere 50% hit rate might give the French pause.
Nigeria will have their dander up, too. They've qualified for the second stage for the first time since 1998, and looked fantastically exciting at times during their final group game, an unfortunate 3-2 defeat against a Lionel Messi-powered Argentina. Ignore the final score: that was probably their best performance at this World Cup, with their form getting better by the match after a nondescript draw with Iran and a staunch win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. And while the French boast Benzema, the Nigerians have a couple of stars of their own, in human octopus Vincent Enyeama and the ridiculously talented winger Ahmed Musa, who curled in one of the goals of the tournament against Argentina. He knows no fear.
Ahmed Musa: the new James Rodriguez? Photograph: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Nigeria are hoping to make it to the last eight for the first time. If they do, they'll become only the fourth African team to make it that far, after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010. A possible quarter final with Germany or Algeria awaits. The French wouldn't mind that too, needless to say, and they've got a couple of cyclical records to keep in motion to boot. It's on!
Kick off: 1pm at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia, 5pm in London, 6pm in Paris, 5pm in Abuja.
