Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match Wednesday, with Argentina's Lionel Messi and Nigeria's Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced, becoming the first African team in the round of 16 in Brazil. Messi boosted his tournament total to four goals, cutting up Nigeria's defense with dazzling runs and clever passes in a game that featured a furious pace.
"Messi is from Jupiter, he is different," Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said.
Tragedy struck in Nigeria before the match, as an explosion rocked a shopping mall in the capital, Abuja. At least 21 people were killed.
Switzerland 3, Honduras 0: At Manaus, Xherdan Shaqiri's hat trick put Switzerland into the second round of the World Cup. The Swiss take second place in Group E behind France and will face Lionel Messi and Argentina on Tuesday. Shaqiri scored his first goal in the sixth minute, dribbling into a crowd of defenders and curling a shot into the net off the underside of the crossbar. In the 31st, he collected a pass from Josip Drmic after a defensive error and easily beat Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares.
France 0, Ecuador 0: In Rio de Janeiro, France's vaunted attack missed a series of chances but the French still won Group E with seven points and next will play Nigeria. Ecuador's chances were hindered after Antonio Valencia was shown a straight red card in the 50th minute for digging his studs into the leg of French defender Lucas Digne. But Ecuador may feel upset that France center half Mamadou Sakho was not shown a red card in the eighth minute when he appeared to elbow Oswaldo Minda in the face during a France corner.
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3, Iran 1: At Salvador, Bosnia-Herzegovina registered its first World Cup win and ended Iran's hopes of advancing to the knockout stage. The Bosnians took a 2-0 lead with goals from Edin Dzeko in the 23rd and Miralem Pjanic in the 53rd.
Suarez: As the world was judging Uruguay's Luis Suarez for biting an Italian player, his teammates and coaches defended him. World Cup organizers scrambled Wednesday to decide on a punishment before Uruguay plays Colombia Saturday in the round of 16. Wilmar Valdez, Uruguay football federation president, said Uruguay officials will respond to FIFA's case with footage showing Suarez as a victim of Italian aggression. Uruguay also will cite Brazil star Neymar getting only a yellow card in a clash with a Croatia player, Valdez said. Suarez could be judged within the scale of typical red-card incidents: A three-match ban may then be appropriate, banishing him until the World Cup final should Uruguay reach it. The maximum penalty would be a ban of 24 international matches.