Messi misses from spot as Argentina struggle

VAR intervention, two own goals, five penalty awards, two missed spot-kicks: an eventful Saturday of World Cup action had it all, except for perhaps the scintillating football we were treated to on Friday evening in the Iberian derby.

France laboured to victory over a spirited Australia side in the early kick-off before Iceland deservedly held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in the Group D curtain-raiser.

Denmark were lucky to edge past a lively Peru side in the 5pm match, with Croatia coasting to a 2-0 win over a poor Nigeria team in the final fixture of the day.

There were mixed fortunes for Fantasy managers in this quartet of matches: Antoine Griezmann, Luka Modric and Christian Eriksen all collected attacking returns, but Lionel Messi and Christian Cueva missed from the spot and Paul Pogba’s winner for France was subsequently credited as an Aziz Behich own goal. Argentina and France failed to register hoped-for clean sheets, with Denmark and Croatia the only two nations to record shut-outs.

France 2-1 Australia

Almost one in four McDonald’s FIFA managers own Antoine Griezmann (£10.0m), who rewarded his backers twice over with France’s opening goal from the spot: the Atletico Madrid forward was awarded an additional two points for winning the penalty he subsequently converted. Joshua Risdon (£4.5m) was the Australian defender penalised.

Mile Jedinak‘s (£6.0m) spot-kick brought the sides level, after a scarcely believable handball from Samuel Umtiti (£6.0m) which cost his 12%+ Fantasy owners a clean sheet and indeed another point for conceding the penalty.

Substitute Olivier Giroud (£9.0m) set up Paul Pogba (£9.0m) for France’s winner, though the joy of Fantasy managers who owned the two Premier League-based assets was short-lived as FIFA later chalked up the decisive strike as an Aziz Behich (£4.5m) own goal.

Budget buys Benjamin Pavard (£4.5m) and Lucas Hernandez (£5.0m) began the match at full-back for France, though the performance of the former in particular will leave Fantasy managers sweating on his inclusion in Les Blues’ starting XI against Peru on Thursday.

Corentin Tolisso (£7.5m) was preferred over Blaise Matuidi (£7.5m) in the centre of the park, while Ousmane Dembele (£8.0m) ousted Giroud in Didier Deschamps’ line-up.

Changes can surely be expected against the Peruvians, however, after a fairly insipid display yesterday.

Despite spending much of the match sat in front of the Australian back four, Aaron Mooy (£7.0m) looked a huge threat from set-pieces and it was his free-kick that led to Umtiti’s moment of madness.

FRANCE (4-3-3): Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez; Tolisso (Matuidi 78′), Pogba, Kante; Griezmann (Giroud 70′), Mbappe, Dembele (Fekir 70′)
AUSTRALIA (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Behich, Sainsbury, Milligan, Risdon; Mooy, Jedinak; Kruse (Arzani 84′), Rogic (Irvine 72′), Leckie; Nabbout (Juric 64′)

Argentina 1-1 Iceland

It was a frustrating day at the office for Lionel Messi (£12.0m) and the 27%+ of Fantasy managers who own the Barcelona star.

A day after Cristiano Ronaldo had posted a 16-point haul in Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain, Messi was to blank in a far more enticing-looking fixture with Iceland.

Hannes Halldorsson (£5.0m) was the beneficiary of Messi’s failure from the spot, collecting five points for his penalty save and a further two points for other stops he made in the Icelandic goal.

Fantasy managers who own the 2014 Golden Ball winner should not be too concerned about the zero score, however: Messi had 11 attempts on goal and created three chances for Argentina, suggesting bad luck – rather than a lack of form – was responsible for his duck egg.

Sergio Aguero (£10.0m) scored his first ever World Cup goal, rifling in after controlling Marcos Rojo‘s (£5.5m) mishit shot.

Gylfi Sigurdsson (£8.0m) was prominent in an attacking midfield role behind Alfred Finnbogason (£6.5m): it was from the Everton playmaker’s cross-shot than Finnbogason drew Iceland level, after Willy Cabellero (£5.0m) had punched away Sigurdsson’s effort. The McDonald’s FIFA game rules mean that Sigurdsson won’t get any assist points for his part in his country’s equaliser, however.

Cabellero and the Argentinean backline looked shaky throughout, with Birkir Bjarnason (£6.5m) desperately close to punishing their lackadaisical defending in the first-half.

Budget midfield pick Maximiliano Meza (£5.5m) collected a bonus two points for winning the penalty that Messi subsequently missed.

ARGENTINA (4-2-3-1): Caballero; Salvio, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico; Biglia (Banega, 54′), Mascherano; Meza (Higuain, 84′), Messi, Di Maria (Pavon, 75′); Aguero

ICELAND (4-4-1-1): Halldorsson; Saevarsson, Arnason, R Sigurdsson, Magnusson; J Gudmundsson (Gislason, 63′), Gunnarsson (A Skulason, 76′), Hallfredsson, Bjarnason; G Sigurdsson; Finnbogason (B Siguardson 89′)

Peru 0-1 Denmark

Christian Eriksen (£9.0m) was the architect of Denmark’s winner as Age Hareide’s side were fortunate to emerge from their Group C encounter with Peru with all three points.

Eriksen registered an assist as Yussuf Poulsen (£6.5m) finished off a swift Denmark counter-attack to score the only goal of the match.

Poulsen had earlier conceded a penalty for his foul on Christian Cueva, the most widely owned Peru player (2.2%) in McDonald’s FIFA.

Cueva skied the resulting spot-kick but at least had the consolation of banking two points for winning the penalty in the first place.

Cueva, Andre Carrillo (£5.5m), Edison Flores (£6.5m) and Jefferson Farfan (£7.0m) looked lively in attack for Peru, while substitute Paolo Guerrero (£7.5m) was inches away from grabbing an equaliser with a deft backheeled effort late on.

Denmark kept their fifth successive clean sheet, with Kasper Schmeichel (£5.0m) in inspired form between the sticks. The Leicester City goalkeeper made an excellent stop from Farfan and collected two save points to go with his shut-out.

Midfielder William Kvist (£4.5m) was stretchered off on 36 minutes with what could well be a tournament-ending rib injury.

PERU (4-2-3-1): Gallese; Advincula, Rodriguez, Ramos, Trauco; Tapia (Aquino 87’), Yotun; Carrillo, Cueva, Flores (Guerrero 62’); Farfan (Ruidiaz 85’)

DENMARK (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel; Dalsgaard, Kjaer, Christensen (M Jorgensen 81’), Larsen; Kvist (Schone 36’), Delaney; Poulsen, Eriksen, Sisto (Braithwaite 67’); N Jorgensen

Croatia 2-0 Nigeria

Nigeria’s Fantasy budget buys failed to deliver meaningful returns as Croatia ran out deserved winners in Kaliningrad.

Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho and full-back Bryan Idowu (both priced at £4.0m) were in the Nigerian starting XI that also featured three other £4.5m-rated defenders.

The Super Eagles were effectively slain by their own hand: Oghenekaro Etebo (£5.0m) deflected Mario Mandzukic’s off-target header into his own goal to give Croatia the lead before William Ekong (£4.5m) committed a senseless foul on Mandzukic to gift Zlatko Dalic’s side a penalty.

Luka Modric (£9.0m) duly converted the spot-kick, to the joy of the 5% of McDonald’s FIFA managers who own the Real Madrid midfielder. Modric had begun the match in the double-pivot, though could well line up as a “number 10” behind Mandzukic in Croatia’s forthcoming fixture against Argentina, should Dalic look to add steel to his central midfield.

Victor Moses (£7.0m) cut a frustrated figure on the flank in a 4-2-3-1, with Nigeria’s attack particularly anaemic throughout.

This was a match low on quality, with no shot on target being recorded until the 59th minute.

CROATIA (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic; Modric, Rakitic; Rebic (Kovacic 78′), Kramaric (Brozovic 61′), Perisic; Mandzukic (Pjaca 85′)

NIGERIA (4-2-3-1): Uzoho; Shehu, Ekong, Balogun, Idowu; Ndidi, Etebo; Moses, Mikel (Simy 88′), Iwobi (Musa 62′); Ighalo (Iheanacho 73′)