MX23RW : Friday, December 13 09:13:09| >> :600:1186575:1186575:
[monks data]
Attendance: 44,190
Argentina national football team
World Cup | Group Stage
Jun 16, 2018 at 2pm UK
 
Iceland national football team

1-1

Aguero (19')
FT(HT: 1-1)

Javier Mascherano: 'Iceland were strong defensively'

Mascherano: 'Iceland strong defensively'
© Reuters
Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano admits that his team struggled against Iceland's defensive tactics in their 2018 World Cup opener.

Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano has admitted that his team struggled against Iceland's defensive tactics in their 2018 World Cup opener in Moscow.

Sergio Aguero sent Argentina ahead in the 19th minute, but Iceland were level four minutes later through Alfred Finnbogason, and that was where the scoring ended on Saturday afternoon as the points were shared.

Next up for Argentina in Group D is a clash with Croatia on Thursday night, and Mascherano has called on the South American nation's supporters to stay behind their team.

"It's not the best feeling. We wanted to win, we tried everything and we could not. It's never easy to play the first game, but you have to keep going," Mascherano told reporters.

"This is just beginning, it's not allowed to fall, but it has not been our day. We knew of the difficulty with a rival who defends with people back, very close. We made it all uphill, we thank the fans and we ask them to continue supporting us. We are going to need them."

Lionel Messi also missed a second-half penalty for Argentina in the entertaining affair with an Iceland side competing in their first ever World Cup.

ID:328509: cacheID:328509:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2498:
Written by
Matt Law
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Sergio Aguero scores the opener during the World Cup group game between Argentina and Iceland on June 16, 2018
Read Next:
Sergio Aguero: 'Lionel Messi is human'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Rams
@
49ers
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Netherlands Netherlands32107
Q Senegal flag Senegal32016
3 Ecuador flag Ecuador31114
4 Qatar Qatar30030

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England32107
Q United States USA31205
3 Iran Iran31023
4 Wales flag Wales30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Argentina Argentina32016
Q Poland Poland31114
3 Mexico Mexico31114
4 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia31023

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France32016
Q Australia Australia32016
3 Tunisia Tunisia31114
4 Denmark Denmark30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Japan Japan32016
Q Spain Spain31114
3 Germany Germany31114
4 Costa Rica flag Costa Rica31023

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Morocco Morocco32107
Q Croatia Croatia31205
3 Belgium Belgium31114
4 Canada Canada30030

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Brazil Brazil32016
Q Switzerland Switzerland32016
3 Cameroon flag Cameroon31114
4 Serbia Serbia30121

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Republic of Korea South Korea31114
3 Uruguay flag Uruguay31114
4 Ghana flag Ghana31023


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!