Iceland shocked all when they equalised five minutes later through Alfred Finnbogason on 24 minutes.
Headlines
Messi misses penalty as Iceland hold star-studded Argentina
Published By
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Date
16th June, 2018
Quick Read
Iceland have pulled an upset at the ongoing Russia 2018 World Cup as the minor held star-studded Argentina to a 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi missing a penalty.
Photo: Getty Image
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Iceland have pulled an upset at the ongoing Russia 2018 World Cup as the minor held star-studded Argentina to a 1-1 draw with Lionel Messi missing a penalty.
Iceland, regarded as the underdog in Group D, is the smallest nation to be in Russia 2018.
Sergio Aguero opened scoring for Argentina in the 19th minute of the game and everyone thought it would be Argentina all the way.
Marcos Rojo had the ball at left-back, lashed in a cross/shot along the deck, Aguero killed it brilliantly with one touch, wriggled away from a defender and then battered a left-footed shot right into the roof of the net.
On 64 minutes, Argentina got the opportunity to take the lead when the referee awarded a penalty, but Messi’s kick was saved.
Hannes Halldorsson flew to his right to push away a Messi penalty.
Despite pressure on the Iceland defence, the players stood resolutely and defended well.
Argentina had 78 percent possession of the ball, 28 shots of which seven were on target and 10 corner kicks, yet they could not break the resilient defence of Iceland.
Only Luigi Riva has mustered more shots in a World Cup game since 1966 without scoring than Lionel Messi today (13 v Sweden and v Israel in 1970), with Messi attempting 11.
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