Win is all that matters for Iceland
All to play for in all-European tie at the Rostov Arena
Nothing less than a win will do for Iceland against Croatia if they are to emulate their Euro 2016 success by making it to the knockout stage at their first World Cup, but it will be a tall order against a familiar foe that leads Group D.
The Croatians, who outclassed Argentina with a 3-0 win, are through already and will top the group with a win or a draw against Iceland at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-onDon.
Having drawn with Argentina in their opener, Iceland then lost 2-0 to Nigeria, meaning they need to beat the Croatians and hope Nigeria fail to beat Argentina, and also earn themselves a better goal difference than Nigeria or Argentina. A Nigeria win would send the Icelanders and Argentinians both home.
Iceland and Croatia know each other well, with coach Heimir Hallgrimsson likening the pair to old flames due to the number of times they have met in recent years.
“We’ve played Croatia four times in four years, we’ve often said we’re like a married couple — we’re trying to get divorced, but we always meet up again,” the Iceland coach said at a recent media conference.
Hallgrimsson is expecting a tough game, but the challenge will be to get more out of a goal-shy attack in a team that has drawn two and lost four of its last six games, while creative spark Gylfi Sigurdsson struggled with a knee injury.
The Everton midfielder missed a penalty against Nigeria, and his team will need to do more to share the attacking burden, in particular by being more effective at set pieces.