Maradona: Sampaoli’s game plan against Iceland was a disgrace

The Argentines took the lead in the 19th minute when Sergio Aguero scored with a rising left-footed shot.

“Ivan likes it too and he will tell me, I will use all the information I can”.

Argentina seemed to have its breakthrough in the second half when Aguero went down after a collision and earned a penalty. But they actually created few chances either side of Messi’s poorly-struck 64th-minute penalty.

Lionel Messi’s bid for World Cup redemption begins on Saturday when he leads Argentina against tiny Iceland, as fancied France make their bow in Russian Federation targeting a repeat of their 1998 glory.

They’ll have to against the likes of Messi and Iceland’s other group opponents, Croatia and Nigeria. That’s what was most important for us.

Their disciplined, defensive tactics frustrated an Argentina side who enjoyed the majority of possession and they also carried a threat going forward from the start, with Birkir Bjarnason scuffing a glorious early chance.

It was a contrast to long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid, whose hat-trick in Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday included a penalty and a free kick.

“We’re a nation that has 330,000 living there, ” Gudmundsson said.

Losing your opening match is never a good position to be in, as it leaves you playing catch up with not many games to spare.

Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha checked the goal-line monitor on his watch and awarded the goal as Australia keeper Mat Ryan stood holding the ball in his hands.

The deadlock was broken via technology as Josh Risdon was belatedly penalised for a sliding challenge – which some observers insisted was legal – on Antoine Griezmann after play had initially been waved on.

The Barcelona superstar endured a hard opening game at the tournament on Saturday, missing a penalty in his side’s surprising 1-1 draw with Group D rivals Iceland.

“But this one is the critical one, this one is a crucial point, it can affect the self-esteem, the self-confidence, the way to appear in the next two matches, the rivalry, what it means for Portuguese people who is at home”.