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FIFA World Cup: Messi faces flak after failing to score penalty as Argentina-Iceland tie ends in a draw; France, Croatia register victories

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Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, arguably the best footballer today along with the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar, is facing flak after he missed a penalty against minnows Iceland at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow in their inaugural Group D game. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

After Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero gave the Argentines the lead in the 19th minute only for Iceland to restore parity through Finnbogason four minutes later, Messi’s penalty was stopped by the Icelandic custodian. Argentina failed to score again and had to share points with their European opponents.

Messi’s penalty miss came a day after Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick against Spain, fuelling comparisons between the two greats.

On the other hand, France defeated Australia 2-1 at Kazan in a Group C match while Denmark and Croatia also began their campaign in Russia with victories. While Denmark pipped Peru 1-0 at Saransk, Croatia got the better of Nigeria 2-0 at Kaliningrad in their Group D game.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica will face Serbia in their Group E match at Samara (match to begin at 5:30 pm IST), defending champions Germany will clash with Mexico at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow (8:30 pm IST) while Brazil will lock horns with Switzerland at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-On-Don in the third match of the day (match to begin at 11:30 pm IST).

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