Watch this Nigerian player go out of his way to console his Icelandic opponent after he misses a crucial penalty kick


Iceland, a country with a population smaller than Wichita, Kansas, stunned World Cup audiences around the globe last week with its massive draw with Argentina. While Strákarnir Okkar needed a win over Nigeria on Friday, the magic just wasn't there: Iceland fell 2-0.
One particularly brutal moment came in the 83rd minute, when Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson sent his penalty kick high, missing a badly-needed goal for his team. Nigeria's fans erupted in the stands, while on the field the team celebrated their nearly-assured first victory of the 2018 World Cup.
One player wasn't celebrating with the rest, though. Nigerian defender William Troost Ekong trotted over to Sigurdsson after the missed penalty, and in a moment of true sportsmanship, appeared to comfort his opponent. "That Nigeria player consoling the Iceland player after he missed the penalty is the best thing I saw this World Cup," tweeted one fan. "That is what football is about. Respect." Watch the moment below. Jeva Lange
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Editor's note: This post originally mischaracterized the outcome of the match between Iceland and Argentina. It has since been corrected. We regret the error.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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