Lionel Messi had the chance to win the game from the penalty spot in the second half, only for his shot to be saved by Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson.
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“The first game is always hard, but now we have to think about Croatia”, said striker Sergio “Kun” Aguero, who scored against Iceland in Moscow.
The manager said, “It was a hard match against an excellent opponent”.
Talent has never been quite enough for under-achieving Croatia, who have failed to advance past the group stage since their debut as an independent country at the 1998 World Cup in France, where they finished third.
Super Eagles midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo has downplayed his own goal that gifted Croatia their first of the two goals scored against Nigeria on Saturday night.
Nigeria, long one of African football’s underachievers, boast several players with English Premier League pedigree, and will hope they can secure only their second win in their last 12 World Cup matches.
Modric was asked about his new Real coach, but he said he has not dwelt on Julen Lopetegui’s appointment.
“I wasn’t [nervous]. I was focused on scoring. I missed five penalties on the spin and I was still Diego Armando Maradona”, he said. “Nothing more to say about that really”.
The youthful Super Eagles’ deficiencies on set pieces were exploited by an experienced Croatia squad while the attack created very little offensively. It doesn’t matter how you score, it matters that you score. “There was some luck there, but we earned our luck”.
“I believe that on the wings of this win we will up our game and continue our journey in the way that we planned before coming here.”
The win took Croatia to the top of Group D with three points after the draw between Iceland and Argentina. We can’t let our guard down.
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“It’s a dream come true to save a penalty, especially if it helps us get a big point”, he added, as Iceland now aim to reach the next round from a group also featuring Croatia and Nigeria.
