The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ice cold stunner HUH!
Messi misses penalty, Iceland holds Argentina to 1-1 draw
MOSCOW — If there is one flaw in Lionel Messi’s genius, it might be his failure to score penalty kicks in big games.
Add Messi’s saved attempt against Iceland on Saturday at the World Cup to misses for Argentina in shootouts for the Copa America title, and for Barcelona in a Champions League semifinal match that was later lost.
At least Messi’s miss in the 64th minute at Spartak Stadium — his fourth in his last seven penalty attempts for his club and his country — was not in a losing cause. A 1-1 draw with impressive World Cup newcomer Iceland is far from a fatal blow to Argentina’s chances of advancing from a well-balanced group that also includes Croatia and Nigeria.
The day after Cristiano Ronaldo scored three times from three shots on target — including a penalty and a spectacular free kick — to salvage a point for Portugal against Spain, Messi’s tally of 11 shots, only three on target, and no goals was curious.
The score was already 1-1 when Argentina was awarded the penalty after Hordur Magnusson’s tumbling fall over Sergio Aguero as both chased Messi’s floated cross. Messi placed his shot to the right of Hannes Halldorsson, but the Iceland goalkeeper dived and got two hands behind the ball.
Messi had a final chance to redeem his team with the final kick of the game, but his free kick from 25 yards failed to clear a solid defensive wall. It summed up the entire second half of resolute hard work by Iceland.
At the end, Messi retreated alone into the center circle with his head bowed and hands on his knees.
The Argentina great, considered by many to be the best player of all time, has missed more than 20 penalty kicks in his career.
France 2, Australia 1 (Group C): Technology twice helped France at the World Cup on Saturday as the 1998 champions labored to beat a gritty Australia 2-1 in their opening game. The French team was given a controversial penalty kick, eventually converted by Antoine Griezmann in the 58th minute, after the referee watched the replay of a foul on the sideline. Paul Pogba later scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, and goal-line technology was used to confirm the ball had crossed the line after bouncing down off the crossbar.
Denmark 1, Peru 0 (Group C): Kasper Schmeichel’s slew of saves made Yussuf Poulsen’s opportunistic second-half goal stand up in a 1-0 victory over Peru. The victory gave Denmark a crucial advantage in Group C, in which France defeated Australia 2-1 earlier in the day. Poulsen squeezed his goal between charging Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and the left post in the 59th minute after collecting an accurate pass from midfielder Christian Eriksen.
Croatia 2, Nigeria 0 (Group D): Luka Modric set up one goal and scored another from the penalty spot to give Croatia a 2-0 win over Nigeria. The Real Madrid midfielder sent in a corner that was headed by two Croatians and then deflected into the net by Nigeria midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo in the 32nd minute. Modric then converted a penalty in the 71st after William Ekong held onto Mario Mandzukic. Thousands of Iceland fans did their ritual claps and war chants of“Huh!” during the game and after the final whistle with their players. But they were massively outnumbered in the 45,000-capacity stadium by Argentina fans, and Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson did not understand why.“Strangely, we had difficulties in buying tickets,” he said.“I can’t see where all the Argentinians bought their tickets. Because we could have sold much more in Iceland.”