FIFA World Cup
World Cup 2018: Argentina vs Iceland Preview
Moscow, Russia – The world is eager to see Lionel Messi with Argentina in this World Cup against Iceland. However, despite all the success with Barcelona, Messi has had very little luck achieving the ultimate goal.
In although everyone has Argentina overcoming the newcomer Iceland, the Albiceleste should not be overconfident.
Current Form:
Despite having a squad fill with stars, Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli is still struggling with puzzling the pieces together. Argentina struggled to qualify for the World Cup and it took three goals from Messi to have them here.
On the other hand, you have the smallest country in the World Cup cruising through the UEFA Group that included Croacia, Ukraine and Turkey. In addition, their pass through the EURO 2016 where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Coaches’ Thoughts
Iceland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has called this “the biggest game in the history of Icelandic football”.
He added:”Regarding Messi, I don’t have a magic formula. Everybody has tried everything against him and he always manages to score.
“He is one of the best players in the world. We will play against him like everything we do, we’ll do it together. We’ll help each other and try to do it as a team.”
Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli was under-fire for releasing the starting XI a day ahead.
When asked about why he released the starting XI against Iceland, Sampaoli responded: “No, no, no, the reason why we have named our team in advance is because we knew since Wednesday what we wanted to do.
“I’ve told you today because we have trained with the starting XI and I don’t believe it’s necessary to hide this information.
“We know Iceland’s main man, their captain [Aron Gunnarsson], is recovering from injury but they play well as a group and I’m sure it’s going to be very tough against them.
“They defend in depth and will probably play on the counter attack. Iceland will be a tough team to beat.”
Potential Lineups:
Argentina:
Wilfredo Caballero; Eduardo Salvio, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Tagliafico; Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia; Maximiliano Meza, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria; Sergio Aguero
Iceland:
Hannes Halldorsson; Hordur Magnusson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Kari Arnason, Birkir Saevarsson; Emil Hallfredsson, Aron Gunnarsson; Birkir Bjarnason, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Johann Gudmundsson; Jon Bodvarsson
Match Prediction:
Messi is one of the most competitive athletes in the world. He very much wants this World Cup as he knows and understands that the door of opportunity is closing for him. In addition to this, his Balon d’Or opponent Cristiano Ronaldo had a miraculous match against Spain while scoring a hat-trick.
Far from saying Messi and Argentina deserve this, Iceland has very little to no experience with World Cup tournaments. But records and surprises are made for special occasions and this is a special occasion.
Predicted Score: Argentina 3 – 1 Iceland, Messi scores a hat trick
