Argentina vs Iceland: Messi and Co. take on debutants in group opener
Argentina’s World Cup journey will begin on Saturday as the tournament favorites take on debutants Iceland at the Otkritie Arena on Saturday afternoon.
La Albiceleste have infamously suffered heartbreak in their last three tournaments, whereupon they had to settle for a runners up spot in the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America, and the special Copa America Centanario played in the United States in 2016. There is the growing sense that this could be Lionel Messi’s last chance at achieving a title with his nation, and the pressure arguably will be on the shoulders of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner after seeing his club side, Barcelona, come up short in the Champions League this season.
Messi has been accused – some may certainly say unfairly – of failing to replicate the same level of success he’s experienced with Barcelona with his national team. However, it was his hat-trick against Ecuador to earn Argentina their ticket to Russia, and naturally, he’ll be the go-to man as they hope to end their decades long wait for a third World Cup.
With his arch rival, Cristiano Ronaldo already having won a title with his country, that surely must frustrate the Blaugrana ace to no end. Argentina are viewed as the major favorites to get out of their quartet, but given the stiffness of their opposition, there are certainly major concerns as to whether they could stumble.
Nigeria, who will be a familiar foe for Argentina, notably beat them 4-2 recently. Although it was just a friendly, it was a result that was celebrated by Super Eagles supporters, and they will be hoping to prove it wasn’t just a one-off incident. Iceland, although they’re making their debut, have clearly shown no signs of stage fright on the global stage. They deservedly pipped Croatia to top spot in their group during qualifying and notably defeated England at the 2016 EURO tournament in the round of 16, so shouldn’t be taken lightly. And as for Croatia, they have a solid squad with experienced players like Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric, and Mario Mandzukic – and some again have them pegged as dark horses – so they could cause Argentina some problems.
Argentina were also dealt a huge blow prior to the start of this tournament due to injuries to Manuel Lanzini and Sergio Romero. Then, there was the curious exclusion of Mauro Icardi, who clinched the Capocannoniere prize with Inter in Serie A this term, but still continues to be snubbed by Jorge Sampaoli. Even Lanzini’s injury wasn’t enough to get Icardi a recall, and it will be very interesting to see whether this refusal to include the Nerazzurri star will backfire or not as Argentina get into the latter stages of the tournament as expected.
Of course, Argentina does boast more than enough firepower not to be Messi-dependent; their attacking options, which include Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Angel Di Maria, and Gonzalo Higuain are enough to make any side green with envy.
On the opposite side of the pitch, Iceland may not have the household names Argentina have in their ranks, but they have been boosted by the return of key man Gylfi Sigurdsson from injury. Still, the tiny nation hasn’t done as well in their warmup games as they’d want, with three losses to Mexico, Peru, and Norway followed up by a draw with Ghana (which was naturally to prepare them for their clash with Nigeria), but oftentimes, friendlies aren’t a predictable indicator of how a team will fare during an actual competition.
With all teams in this quartet being of strong quality, each and every single game will be decisive. Will Argentina be able to make a clear statement towards getting to the next round, or will Iceland, the smallest ever nation to feature at a World Cup, present a surprise obstacle?
