Argentina legend Diego Maradona could not help but comment about the kick-off he witnessed between Argentina and Iceland which took place in Spartak Stadium. He called the draw game a “disgrace†and gave manager Jorge Sampaoli a cautionary advice “he can’t come back to Argentina” after the said performance.
The 1986 World Cup Winner believed that the team failed to fully prepare for the match which was attested by a statement revealed through Venezuelan television “It’s a disgrace. Not having prepared for the match knowing that Iceland are all 1.90m tallâ€.
At 19th minute Argentina took the lead through Sergio Aguero but the table turned as Iceland, despite playing at their first ever finals, levelled score through Alfred Finnbogason after only four minutes .
Lionel Messi was expecting to perform the same impact his old rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, showed – who scored a sensational hat-trick against Spain Friday night. But failed as his 63rd minute spot kick was blocked by Hannes Halldorsson and he struggled to penetrate Iceland’s defence. Not to mention missing a penalty kick.
Despite this, the 57 year-old who led Argentina to the quarter-finals in South Africa 2010 conclude that Lionel Messi particularly did his best, “I don’t blame the players. I could blame the lack of work rate. But I can’t blame the players, much less Messi, who gave it all he had,” said Maradona and added “I missed five penalties on the spin and I was still Diego Armando Maradona. I don’t think that they dropped two points because Messi missed a penalty,â€
Argentina’s next game will be held in Saint Petersburg on June 21 against Croatia