Messi misses penalty as World Cup debutants Iceland hold Argentina in tough draw
- Iceland hold Argentina to a 1-1 draw in their World Cup debut
- Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the game after his spot-kick was saved by Halldórsson
- The draw is Iceland's first point in the World Cup
Argentina failed to pick up all three points in their first game at the FIFA World Cup since Italian 1990 after they were held to a 1-1 draw by debutants Iceland.
The Lionel Messi-led Argentina took the lead in the 19th minute through Sergio Aguero but his goal was quickly cancelled out by Alfred Finnbogason, whose name will go down in history as the first man to score for Iceland at the World Cup.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the second half as he was frustrated all afternoon by Iceland goalkeeper Halldorsson.
Read Legit.ng's live coverage of the clash between Argentina and Iceland below.
95' Messi hits the wall and that is it. Full time: Argentina 1-1 Iceland. The European nation secure their first point in the World Cup
94' Freekick to Argentina! Messi standing over this one, what can he do with this?
92' HALF CHANCE! Messi dribbles past his marker but he fires high yet again. He has had nine attempts in this game but all to no avail.
90' Five minutes of added time to be played.
89' Substitution for Iceland! Sigurdason IN, Finnbogason OUT.
86' BIG SAVES! Halldórsson again makes a fine save to deny Pavon, seconds later he keeps out Mascherano's shot. What a game he is having!
84' Substitution! Argentina make their final change. Higuain IN, Meza OUT.
82' CHANCE! Messsiiiiiiiii wide. The Barcelona star curls a dangerous ball from 25-yards out but its narrowly wide. That was really close!
80' Ten minutes left to play in this one. Scoreline still remains Argentina 1-1 Iceland.
78' Penalty call for Argentina as Pavon is brought down in the box but the referee waves play on.
76' Substitution for Iceland! Skulason IN, Gunnarson OUT
75' Substitution for Argentina! Pavon IN, Di Maria OUT
71' Half chance! Banega fires straight at the goalkeeper. A minute later, Argentina hits the wall with his free-kick. The South Americans are finding it hard to create chances.
70' Twenty minutes separates Iceland from picking up their first ever point at the World Cup.
66' HALF CHANCE! Messi again fires inches high from a free-kick.
64' MISSED! Lionel Messi denied from the spot by Halldórsson. This is the third penalty he has missed for Argentina in all competitions.
63' PENALTY to Argentina as Aguero is brought down in the box.
61' He is back on the field and game continues.
60' Injury scare for Iceland as Gudmundsson is down and needs treatment.
57' Blocked! Aguero tries his luck from the box but his effort his well blocked. The Iceland defense has been well organized in this game.
54' Substitution for Argentina! Banega IN, Biglia OUT
51' Penalty call for Iceland as the ball seems to have hit Salvio on his hand but the referee for the second time in this game waves play on.
48' Otamendi flashes a header well high from a Di Maria corner. Iceland are making life difficult for Argentina.
46' Argentina get the second half underway.
HT' It is half time. Argentina 1-1 Iceland. We have another blockbuster 45 minutes coming up.
45' BIG CHANCES! Sigurdsson dribbles past his marker and forces a fine save from Caballero, seconds after, he hits his volley wide. Iceland have had a good first half.
42' A big penalty call for Argentina as the players gather the referee to protest but he is having none of that and waves play on.
35' The thunderclap has taken over the Spartak Stadium in Moscow. Iceland fans are really loving their debut at the World Cup.
32' Half chance! Biglia fires well over from 25 yards.
26' Argentina 1-1 Iceland. What a game we are having in Moscow.
23' GOALLLL!!! Finnbogason scores from close range after a mix up in the Argentine defence. This is Iceland's first goal in the World Cup. Game on!
21' CHANCE! Messi again drives past his markers and fires at goal but he is again denied by Halldórsson.
19' GOALLLLLL!!! Aguero scores a rocket after being set up by Rojo. It is his first World Cup goal.
17' HALF CHANCE! Messi with a fierce shot is parried away by Halldórsson. That's Argentina's first shot on target in this game.
15' It has been end-to-end stuff in Moscow as both teams have given a good account of themselves in the opening stage of this game.
10' WHAT A CHANCE! Iceland's Bjarnason just missed a sitter. He was clean through on goal after a mix up in the Argentine defense but he shoots wide when he looked certain to score.
8' BIG CHANCE! Messi steps up to take another freekick which meets the head of Tagliafico but his header went narrowly wide.
4' Messi takes but it evades everyone in the box and runs out for a goalkick.
3' Argentina win a freekick in a good position after Tagliafico was brought down. Messi is standing over this one, what can he do with this?
1' Iceland get the game underway playing from right to left.
Argentina starting XI against Iceland: Caballero; Tagliafico, Otamendi, Rojo, Salvio; Mascherano, Biglia; Meza, Messi, Di María; Agüero.
Iceland starting XI vs Argentina: Halldórsson; Árnason, Saevarsson, R.Sigurdsson, Magnusson; Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson, Hallfredsson; Bjarnason, Finnbogason, G.Sigurdsson.
Read our preview below
- Argentina kickoff their World Cup campaign with a tricky tie against debutants Iceland
- This is the first ever meeting between both nations
- Lionel Messi is set to play in his fourth World Cup and has scored six goals for his country at the mundial since making his debut in 2006
Russia's capital Moscow will be the centre of attraction in day three of the FIFA World Cup as one of the greatest players Lionel Messi leads his Argentine teammates against one of the tournament’s latest debutants Iceland.
Argentina making their 17th appearance at the World Cup will entertain an Iceland nation who will also be making history as the smallest nation ever to play at a World Cup.
With a population of 335,000, the European nation will have to stop one man Lionel Messi who has not had a good love affair with the World Cup in his three previous tournaments. They ended with losses in two quarterfinals and the 2014 final, all against Germany.
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According to their coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, this is the biggest game in the history of Icelandic football.
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He added: "Regarding Messi, I don't have a magic formula. Everybody has tried everything against him and he always manages to score.
"I've said it would be unfair to give a player the role of marking Messi. He is one of the best players in the world. We will play against him like everything we do, we will do it together. We will help each other and try to do it as a team."
However, Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli wasted no time in naming his line-up a day before the match, handing starts to Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero.
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Iceland were arguably the team of the tournament at Euro 2016 as they played a 1-1 draw against Portugal in the group stage and dispatched England on their road to the quarterfinal. But now they are up against Lionel Messi, a man who is on a mission to win his first trophy with the Argentine senior team.
This encounter will be the first between both teams but they still have two other teams in Group D to contend with as Nigeria and Croatia face-off in the late kick off set to be played in Kaliningrad.
Argentina starting XI: Willy Caballero, Eduardo Salvio, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Maximiliano Meza, Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero.
Star player for Argentina: Lionel Messi
Iceland potential XI: Halldorsson; R. Sigurdsson, A. Skulason, Eyjolfsson, Arnason; Bjarnason, G. Sigurdsson, Hallfredsson, J. Gudmundsson; Sigurdarson, Finnbogason.
Star player for Iceland: Gylfi Sigurdsson
Venue: Spartak Stadium in Moscow
Time: 2pm Nigeria time
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Source: Legit.ng
