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:

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

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.