Iceland managed to hold 1-1 draw against Argentina at the World Cup 2018 Group D match at Otkrytiye Arena on Saturday (16/06/2018). Lionel Messi’s failure to execute a penalty also affected this result.
Argentina had first lead in the 18th minute through Sergio Aguero before equalized by Alfred Finnbogason four minutes later.
Luck was not on Argentina side because failed to win despite being very dominant in this match. In two rounds, Argentina recorded 70 percent control of the ball. Not only that, in terms of opportunities, Argentina is also far superior. Total 19 attempts made by Messi et al during the game. While Iceland is only able to create three shots on target from seven experiments.
The disciplined Iceland back line and the slick appearance of goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson make Argentina very frustrated.
In the 18th minute, Argentina scored the opening goal with a hard kick left foot Aguero. Receiving horizontal feedback Rojo, Aguero had deceived two players Iceland, before firing from inside the penalty box.
Iceland managed to equalize in the 22nd minute. Alfred Finnbogason managed to utilize the ball throw up results by Gylfi Sigurdsson. Score 1-1 draw lasted until halftime.
In the second half, nothing has changed from the game. Argentina still master the game with medium tempo. In the 63rd minute, Argentina had a change back ahead after Maximiliano Meza violated in the penalty box. Unfortunately, Messi who became the executioner failed to do a good job. Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson managed to guess the direction of Messi’s kick and brushed it off.
With the intention on targeting victory, Argentina sent in two strikers, Cristian Pavon and Gonzalo Higuain, in the final 15 minutes of the game. However, Iceland’s lineup was not easy to break through and made all the attempts of Argentina failed to scored. The match ended with a 1-1 draw.
The composition players of Argentina vs Iceland game:
Argentina: 23-Wilfredo Caballero; 18-Eduardo Salvio, 17-Nicolas Otamendi, 16-Marcos Rojo, 3-Nicolas Tagliafico; 13-Maximiliano Meza (9-Gonzalo Higuain 84 ‘), 14-Javier Mascherano, 5-Lucas Biglia (7-Ever Banega 54’), 11-Angel Di Maria (22-Cristian Pavon 76 ‘), 10-Lionel Messi, 19-Sergio Aguero
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli
Iceland: 1-Hannes Thor Halldorsson; 18-Hoerdur Magnusson, 6-Ragnar Sigurdsson, 14-Curry Arnason, 2-Birkir Saevarsson; 8-Birkir Bjarnason, 20-Emil Hallfredsson, 17-Aron Gunnarsson (Ari Skulason 76 ‘), 7-Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Ruth Gislason 63’); 10-Gylfi Sigurdsson; 11-Alfred Finnbogason (Bjoern Sigurdarson 89 ‘)
Coach: Heimir Hallgrimsson
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
