Argentina and Messi too Hot for Iceland to Handle

Argentina v Iceland, Saturday 16th June, 14:00

On Saturday afternoon we have two teams who have seared themselves into the collective memory of England supporters, a memory which dredges up immense emotions centred on pain and sadness that spans the years 1986 to 2016. That, though, is where the similarities between Argentina and Iceland effectively end. Two-time winners Argentina arrive with the weight of an expectant nation largely falling upon the shoulders of one man, Lionel Messi. He may well be the greatest player to have ever graced a pitch but he is running out of road to claim the one trophy that has thus far eluded him. Unfortunately for him, he is still only one man and his supporting cast are arguably weaker than they were this time four years ago.

None of Iceland’s players will feel any such pressure. Following the heroics of their maiden voyage in an international tournament at Euro 2016 where they reached the quarter-finals, Iceland have reached their first ever World Cup – the smallest country to ever reach either competition. With a population of under 400,000, it’s fair to say that no other team packs such a punch relative to their size. They are a workman-like but positive team in approach and in Gylfi Sigurdsson have an attacking midfielder of rare guile. Worryingly for Iceland, he picked up a bad injury in early March and, although he is travelling to Russia, it remains to be seen whether or not he is fully fit.

The market has Argentina behind Brazil, Germany, Spain and France in terms of favourites for overall winners. Aside from Messi, they have some brilliant forwards in Paola Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero but the issues in defence and between the posts are big enough to see them fall short of their ultimate goal. However, Iceland should eventually cave in this outing.