Nigeria v Argentina.Mascherano reacts to Iwobi's goal in 2:4 bashing.

Argentina defender, Javier Mascherano, has reserved special praise for Nigeria midfielder, Alex Iwobi, after his brace as the Super Eagles defeated the South Americans 4-2 in a high-profile friendly game in Russia.

Speaking after the game, Mascherano lamented how his side threw away a two-goal lead, but admitted that Nigeria deserved to win on the strength of their second-half display.

“It’s better to lose this way before we get to the World Cup, and the Nigerian team are obviously one of the most physical sides we have faced in a while.

“We dominated the first half but they scored from their only shot on target before the half time break. Their second goal was well taken by the Arsenal lad (Iwobi) then the fourth goal by same player killed the game off.

“He (Iwobi) took his goals really well, maybe we should have defended better but the quality of the second strike from the edge ‎of the box makes me think otherwise. Congratulations to Nigeria, they deserve to win,” the Barcelona defender stated.