Everton midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson spoke about the disappointment after Iceland succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria at the World Cup. The Icelanders were lauded for their impressive draw against Argentina during their tournament debut but they could not replicate the feat versus the Super Eagles, who found the scoresheet twice via Ahmed Musa.

Speaking after the game, Sigurdsson admitted that the match was probably the toughest of his career after he spurned the chance to bring Iceland back into the game via the penalty spot. With just seven minutes of normal time left, Alfred Finnbogason was fouled in the box which allowed Iceland a route into the match but Sigurdsson could only hoof the opportunity over the bar.

“It’s tough to take. It’s probably the toughest moment of my career. Hopefully, I can put it right and score in the next game. It was a game of two halves. We were good in the first half and very organised defensively. I don’t think they had any shots in the first half. We created numerous chances in the first half that we probably should have scored from. In the second half, we were unlike ourselves. We were very open, especially after the first goal and we had to go and get something out of the game. Overall it’s very disappointing.”

With the defeat to Nigeria, Sigurdsson and co. need to pick up a win over Croatia in the final group stage game but even that may not assure them of qualification for the knockouts, should one of Nigeria or Argentina pick up a positive result in the other game. As things stand, Nigeria could progress even with a draw against Argentina, though the South American nation are unlikely to give up on their World Cup quest. The Selecao have underperformed with just one point from their first two matches but they can still progress with a victory over their African counterparts.