Messi fails to break the 'Ice'land defence, Argentina manage a 1-1 draw

Iceland's goalkeeper Hannes Thór Halldórsson saved Lionel Messi's penalty to give Iceland a well fought 1-1 draw against Argentina

Argentina were held to a draw by Fifa World Cup 2018 debutants Iceland on Saturday, with Lionel Messi blowing a gilt-edged opportunity for victory when he missed a penalty.

Iceland launched some early physical challenges and rattled the Argentina team in front of a raucous crowd at the 45,000-capacity venue.

 

The debutants gave Argentina a scare early in the first half when Bjorn Sigurdarson pounced on a loose ball only to rifle a shot wide of the post.

Sergio Aguero opened the scoresheet with an eye-catching opener for the two-time world champions in the 19th minute. Marcos Rojo drilled a shot into the Iceland penalty box, Aguero took possession of the ball, turning the defender before smashing it into the top corner of the net with his left foot.

The lead was short-lived as it was almost immediately cancelled out by Iceland's Alfred Finnbogason. The Iceland striker netted the equaliser, pouncing when Argentine keeper Wilfredo Caballero parried away Gylfi Sigurdsson's shot for a classic poacher's goal.

The match was a major embarrassment for the Albiceleste as they failed to win a game against the relative underdogs. The embarrassment worsened with the penalty miss by their captain, who was nowhere close to his best in today's match.

Although Argentina took 27 shots towards the Iceland goal with Messi alone taking 11 of them, the Iceland defence seemed too hard to penetrate.

Argentina continued to press but Messi was subdued in the face of the tall Icelandic defence and the teams went into the break on even terms. Messi looked helpless as his team failed to dominate in spite of controlling maximum ball possession.
 

The Argentine's appeared to have secured a breakthrough when Polish referee Szymon Marciniak pointed to the spot after Rurik Gislason brought Maximiliano Meza down in the 63rd minute, Messi took a half-hearted shot on Hannes Halldorsson's right but he guessed the ball correctly and palmed away the Argentine skipper's side-footed effort.

As Diego Maradona looked on at Moscow's Spartak stadium, Messi failed to respond to Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick for Portugal against Spain a day earlier. The four-time Ballon dÓr winner is yet to win a major international tournament and time is running out with his 31st birthday just days away.

The result was a major boost for the tiny nation, who retain hopes of advancing from a group that also includes Nigeria and Croatia. The island nation of 330,000 is the smallest country to ever qualify for the finals but emphatically showed they can play at-par with the heavyweights.

Argentina need to pull up their socks before facing Croatia on Nizhny Novgorod on June 21, while Iceland face Nigeria in Volgograd on June 22.

Argentina’s full squad:

Goalkeepers: Wilfredo Caballero (Chelsea/England), Franco Armani (River Plate).

Defenders: Cristian Ansaldi (Torino/Italy), Gabriel Mercado (Sevilla/Spain), Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City/England), Federico Fazio (Roma/Italy), Marcos Rojo (Manchester United/England), Marcos Acuna (Sporting Lisbon/Portugal), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax/Netherlands).,

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Hebei China Fortune/China PR), Cristian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Maximiliano Meza (Independiente), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain/France), Giovani Lo Celso (Paris Saint-Germain/France), Ever Banega (Sevilla/Spain), Lucas Biglia (AC Milan/Italy), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica/Portugal).

Forwards: Paulo Dybala (Juventus/Italy), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus/Italy), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Spain), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City/England)

Iceland’s full squad:

Goalkeepers: Hannes Thor Halldorsson (Randers, Denmark), Runar Alex Runarsson (Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Frederik Schram (Roskilde, Denmark);

Defenders: Kari Arnason (Aberdeen, Scotland), Ari Freyr Skulason (Lokeren, Belgium), Birkir Mar Saevarsson (Valur), Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Rostov, Russia), Hordur Magnusson (Bristol City, England), Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson (Levski Sofia, Bulgaria), Ragnar Sigurdsson (Rostov, Russia);

Midfielders: Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley, England), Birkir Bjarnason (Aston Villa, England), Arnor Ingvi Traustason (Malmo, Sweden), Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese, Italy), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton, England), Olafur Ingi Skulason (Karabukspor, Turkey), Rurik Gislason (Sandhausen, Germany), Samuel Fridjonsson (Valerenga, Norway), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City, Wales);

Forwards: Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg, Germany), Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson (Rostov, Russia), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Reading, England), Albert Gudmundsson (PSV, Netherlands)