Evening one and all! Cannot wait for this one. Bottom-of-the-table Argentina up against Nigeria, with both able to join Croatia in qualifying from Group D, with Iceland also able to do likewise. Promises so be some night… Time to work out the permutations!

Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!

And it's Messi who scores!

What a moment for the little genius. With the weight of a nation on his shoulders, he takes two incredible touches from Banega's quality through ball, firstly with his thigh, the second with his left foot, before tucking it away with his right foot.

Finally, a first goal of the 2018 World Cup for Messi.

Mascherano is sloppy in possession and gifts Iheanacho the ball, but he rallies to chase down the forward and win the ball back. Fair play. Well, until his next pass goes astray!

Shot to nothing from Musa 25 yards out. He's off balance though and it won't trouble Armani, who is making his debut in the Argentina goal.

Noise levels ramp up as Messi dances into the area, but his cross is blocked and Nigeria clear.

WIDE! Nice pass from Banega, who finds Tagliafico on the edge of the area, but he darts past a challenge before sending an attempt narrowly wide.

Frantic pace. Musa sees a shot smothered one end before Argentina counter and Messi is brought down. They play the free-kick short though, and nothing comes of it.

A tidy sprint and slide helps Di Maria keep the ball out of touch, but he's flagged for offside. Nice attempt to break the line though.

Now it's Argentina who are just starting to control possession. Always likely to go that way, but it will only add the pressure on them to make something happen.

Lively enough start but both sides just struggling to keep the ball for a decent amount of time. Atmosphere sounds cracking.

And we are under way. What a game we have in prospect...

I had to endure France v Denmark earlier. I already know this will be better.

Why? One, because it can't get any worse than that match, but two, it just will be better.

Incredible, incredible noise made by the Argentina fans in St Petersburg. Just wow.

The teams are out. Time to belt out the anthems.

Nigeria face Argentina in a World Cup group game for the fourth time in a row, having played them in 2002, 2010 and 2014. Argentina won all three encounters!

Maradona is doing a pretty good job of deflecting the attention away from the Argentina team, but the players will be walking out in a couple of minutes, and it will be allll down to them. Cannot forget Nigeria are in the same boat, which is what will hopefully make it a great spectacle.

Enjoying himself once more...

From one legend to another...

Mascherano would not entertain the fact this could be his last international game if Argentina crash out...

"I’ve not thought about that," he told FIFA.com. "I’d rather think about what we can achieve and try to do my best so that things turn out well. After that, fate will decide how our story ends."

We’ll also have the calculators out all evening to work out what’s what…

Over in Rostov, Croatia take on Iceland, and you can follow that one below.

Fact.