Argentina 1-1 Iceland: World Cup 2018 - 3 things that went wrong for Argentina

Just two years after appearing at the Euro 2016, their first ever major tournament, Iceland made history by qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Icelanders were going to make their debut appearance and it was going to come against one of the best footballers the game has seen and his hungry native side - Lionel Messi's Argentina.

Clearly the underdogs, not many believed Iceland had much of a chance going into this game. However, Iceland eventually proved their naysayers oh so wrong as they held the mighty Argentinians to a modest 1-1 draw in what many perceive to be an upset of sorts.

Sergio Aguero produced the game's first goal with a stunning turn preceding a rocket of a shot that nestled in the net. Merely 4 minutes later, Iceland drew level through Alfred Finnbogason - the Icelanders' first ever goal at a FIFA World Cup.

Eventually, those two goals were all the game was going to yield, as Messi and co. failed to find the leverage they needed. On that note, here is a look at 3 things that went wrong for La Albiceleste:

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#3 Failure to convert chances and breach Iceland's defence

Argentina players were visibly dejected by the end of the game

Missing out on 3 points in the first game of your World Cup campaign is never a nice feeling. It's only worse when it happens against a side that's making their maiden appearance on the grandest stage.

Argentina did enter the game as favourites and seemingly controlled the game for most parts. With 78% possession of the ball and a stunning total of 752 passes (at an accuracy of nearly 90%), La Albiceleste mustered 27 shots with just 1 goal to show for it.

Now, of these 27 shots, only 1 managed to meet the back of the net while only 6 were saved by Iceland's goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórssos (and credit to him for it). The other 20 shots inexplicably failed to make a dent with every Argentinian opportunity eventually amounting to nothing.

For a team with as much attacking potential as Argentina, stats like these are bound to be worrisome and manager Jorge Sampaoli could well have a sleepless night or two pondering how he can fix this in their next game.

#2 Paulo Dybala's exclusion cost Argentina

The missing piece of the puzzle?

Manager Jorge Samapoli, in a bold move, decided to exclude Juventus star Paulo Dybala from his side against Iceland and boy, did that decision backfire. With reference to the previous slide, Argentina's biggest problem was that they lacked necessary bite in their attack - something Dybala is perfectly suited to provide.

Now Maximiliano Meza, on the right wing, didn't exactly have a bad game, but one can only imagine Dybala having more of an impact. The 24-year-old scored 26 goals across all competitions this past season, and his presence in the starting 11 may just have been the key to unlocking Iceland's defence.

Sampaoli would do well to consider playing Dybala alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero in their next game - against Croatia in under a week's time. I mean, what's the point of all that attacking prowess if you're not even going to tap into it, right?

#1 Lionel Messi had an uncharacteristically forgettable night

Lionel Messi missed his 3rd ever penalty in Argentinian colors against Iceland

After Cristiano Ronaldo's spectacular performance for Portugal last night, all eyes were ostensibly on Argentina's Lionel Messi in anticipation of some kind of response. Alas, Messi has probably never been further away from an appropriate response.

While there's no denying that the 30-year-old was an absolute livewire right from the get-go, the gods seemed to have decided that Messi would not find the back of the net. The diminutive magician made 9 successful dribbles and took a total of 11 shots (Just 3 were on target), only to be denied in one way or another, each and every time.

To make matters worse, Messi and Argentina were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead and perhaps take control of the game when they were handed a penalty in the 64th minute. Naturally, Messi stepped up to take it, and on most nights, he'd have effortlessly put it past any goalkeeper on the world.

Tonight, though, refused to be his night as he saw his penalty excellently saved by Iceland's goalkeeper, backed by thunderous Viking claps. Messi and his side did throw the kitchen sink, but ultimately, it was all destined to go down the drain.