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As the United States did not make the cut for this year’s World Cup, we here at The Daily Norseman have taken it upon ourselves to sort of adopt a team for this year’s festivities. Of all the teams to potentially follow in this year’s event, who better for us and other fans of the Minnesota Vikings to follow than the guys from Iceland? After all, they were kind enough to let us appropriate their chant and what have you, so rooting for them seems to be the polite and proper thing to do.
Iceland had their first match in this year’s World Cup earlier today in Moscow, and in a bit of a surprise. . .at least to a layman such as myself. . .held on for a draw against mighty Argentina by a score of 1-1, getting them a point in Group Play.
Argentina drew first blood in this one, as Sergio Aguero netted a goal in the 19th minute of play. Iceland got a very quick equalizer, however, as in the 23rd minute Alfred Finnbogason found the back of the net to make the score 1-1 at the half.
The pivotal moment in the match came in 64th minute. Lionel Messi, one of the finest players in the world of soccer, had an opportunity for a penalty shot against Iceland goaltender Hannes Halldorsson. Here’s what happened:
(The video that we had been using no longer appears to be functional. You can see the highlight here.)
Halldorsson made the save to keep the game tied, and that’s how it ended.
The stat sheet shows that Argentina dominated in terms of time of possession and shots on goal, but the final score is what matters. Iceland and Argentina each come out of today’s contest with one point.
Another Group D contest between Croatia and Nigeria is set to kick off at approximately 2:00 PM Central time this afternoon. Iceland’s next match will be against Nigeria at 8:00 AM Central time on Friday, 22 June, and their final match in Group play will be against Croatia at 1:00 PM Central time on Tuesday, 26 June. Those matches will determine whether or not they make it to the Round of 16.
The guys from Iceland got themselves a draw today against one of the world’s best soccer teams. That’s pretty good stuff, and we’ll continue following them until they’re not there to follow anymore.