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Losers
David de Gea
Widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, David de Gea went about a complete season with Manchester United without committing too many errors but on national duty, he flinched at the first instance.
In what was a horror show for the Spaniard, he fumbled and allowed a Cristiano Ronaldo shot to go past him on an eventful night against Portugal.
However, we believe it was an aberration and expect the shot-stopper to prove his worth in the games to follow
Lionel Messi
Eleven shots, three on target, zero goals and a penalty missed. This is not the kind of stat one would associate with the great Lionel Messi at the end of a match. As uncharacteristic as it sounds, that’s all the Argentinian could muster against Iceland at the final whistle.
It’s early days but he needs to up his game against Croatia if Argentina are to qualify for the round of 16 and remain World Cup contenders.
Germany
The champion's curse got to the Germans against Mexico as they looked a pale shadow of the team that lifted the trophy in 2014. Call it complacency or overconfidence; Joachim Low’s men were just not good enough and they can’t afford any more slip-ups in the upcoming games.
Jorge Sampaoli
For all his pre-World Cup talks and promises, the Albiceleste boss played a fairly defensive line-up against a team like Iceland and the result was there for everyone to see.
They lacked imagination and creativity in the final third as they often looked over-reliant on Messi. The sight of Paulo Dybala, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Pavon on the bench didn’t augur well with the fans either.
Sampaoli needs to choose his first XI carefully for the game against Croatia as one more slip-up could put Argentina in muddy waters.
Didier Deschamps
France won but their manager makes our list of losers. Here’s why.
Just look at the quality in their squad, and how ordinary the Australian team is. Then think about how Didier Deschamps’s men won, struggling to create any danger and having to leave it really late.
It’s fair to say that the Les Blues boss couldn’t bring the best out of the talented players at his disposal but hey, it’s just the first game.
Poland
With all due respect to Senegal, it would be fair to say that the Poles were quite generous towards them in their opening clash. What was touted to be a clash between two of Europe’s top attacking forwards - Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane, was eventually decided by two individual errors.
Never mind, Poland, what’s done is done. It’s time to look ahead.
