Nigeria Coach Says Super Eagles Will Show 'No Mercy' to Lionel Messi, Argentina

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has called on his team to show "no mercy" to Lionel Messi and Argentina ahead of their crunch FIFA World Cup clash on Tuesday. 

The two teams go head-to-head in a vital Group D encounter, with Argentina needing a win to stand any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. The Albiceleste are bottom of the group following their 3-0 hammering at the hands of Croatia on Thursday.

Rohr said on Monday he wants to see the Super Eagles pile on the misery, per Reuters (h/t ESPN FC).

"We love this great player Messi, everybody loves him," said the Super Eagles boss. "But the question for us is not if it's the last World Cup for him. We are not here to watch him play. We're here to get a result. We are professionals and we have to defend the colours of Nigeria. In football, there is no mercy, no pity. Everybody wants to win."

Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press

Nigeria defender Brian Idowu said it is the "main goal" of the team to make it Messi's last game at the tournament.

Nigeria put themselves in a strong position to qualify from Group D alongside Croatia after they beat Iceland 2-0 in their second fixture. Ahmed Musa was on the scoresheet twice in the victory. As noted by OptaCan, the forward has history against the South Americans too:

It'll be fascinating to see what type of state Argentina arrive at this game in, as there have been reports of turmoil in the team ahead of the contest.

According to Ed Malyon of The Independent, since the loss to Croatia there has been "player revolt, infighting and backbiting" in the Argentina camp, with the pressure ramped up on manager Jorge Sampaoli. 

Victor Caivano/Associated Press

It's been reported by Simon Mullock of the Daily Mirror that Sergio Aguero will not start against Nigeria as he was one of several players who sought to have the manager sacked after the Croatia clash.

The furore will only heap further pressure onto Messi, who has so often been the man Argentina turn to in tough times. Javier Mascherano has called upon the rest of the team to step up in support:

Based on their performance against Iceland, Nigeria will give Argentina issues. Not only are they organised and effective on the counter-attack, there's a sense of unity among the players that outstrips that in the Albiceleste camp.

Recent history dictates that Argentina will need Messi to produce of one his masterclasses to pull them out of the mire here, and you wouldn't back against the Barcelona man doing so. If he can haul this rabble of players into the last 16 following their Croatia capitulation, it may just be one of his best achievements yet.