Argentina 1 – 1 Iceland | 16 Jun 2018

The first match of Group D ended in frustration for Argentina after they struggled to break down a heroic Iceland in a 1-1 draw, with Lionel Messi missing a second-half penalty.

And he’s revealed he KNEW where Messi would put his penalty, having swotted up in the build-up to his country’s first-ever World Cup match.

“Of course, I am happy to be part of this”, he told Goal. “It hadn’t been easy for us”. Although the former did provide the assist for Aguero, their two centre backs need to step up for the rest of the tournament.

Every time Argentina fail to win, Messi is inevitably the man who faces the most scrutiny.

The five-time Ballon d’Or victor has even hinted he could retire from global football after the tournament, saying last week that “it will depend on how far we go”.

“We were a bit lucky, they had some good opportunities but so did we, the game could have gone either way”.

He added:”Regarding Messi, I don’t have a magic formula”. It was Messi and then the whole Barcelona team.

“That’s why this is a great success, to get a point is great”. “I can’t see where all the Argentinians bought their tickets”.

“I thought they’d won the Euros the way they celebrated at the end, it was unbelievable”. That was until the 64 minute, when luck seemingly fell in Argentina’s favour as they were awarded a penalty following a clumsy challenge.

The Arsenal supporter counts Thierry Henry as one of his heroes, but, despite his criticism of Iceland, he retains an admiration for Ronaldo, whom he believes is Messi’s equal. “There are a lot of romantic things in our heads now we start to play Argentina”.

Does he cite Iceland’s defensive play? Yes. Iceland’s players stuck to him like chewing gum on a shoe.

“Ever since I was young, I always dreamed of playing in La Liga or the Premier League”.

Instead of blaming Icelandic tactics, he noted: “I feel responsible for the draw”. Halldorsson said he studied footage of previous Messi penalties and “had a good feeling that he would go this way”.

Iceland’s story coming into the match was a totally different one. Behind them is unfortunately a bigger worry for the South American team. Because we could have sold much more in Iceland.

Croatia and Nigeria are the other two teams in Group D and meet on Saturday evening in Kaliningrad. Our goal is to get to the next round. “So I tried to get into their mindset, how they would be thinking about me”.

A superstar of football knocked off his pedestal at the World Cup. When he isn’t keeping goal, he works as a film director.

The second half was more of a case of Iceland playing with their backs against the wall, but opponents expecting to hog possession against the Euro 2016 surprise packages will be mindful that this might be enough to secure victory. We should have used our numbers on the left side of the pitch.

This June 5, 2018, picture shows a poster erected in the West Bank town of Hebron calling for a boycott of soccer star Lionel Messi (l) next to a portrait of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson returned from a knee injury in a friendly against Ghana last week.

Nevertheless, Gudmundsson believes the 28-year-old could be a difference maker in Russian Federation.

“He supports the team and the team supports him”.

The defense has been an issue since Sampaoli took over, his desire to play a hard-pressing game and a high line an awkward fit with Argentina’s cumbersome defenders.

Any way you slice it, it wasn’t Messi’s finest showing, but it was also the first game of the tournament. “That’s why he contributes so much for us”.