Jose Mourinho On Why Messi Failed To Score Vs Iceland: Penalty Miss Affected Him

Published: June 16, 2018

Nigeria's World Cup rivals Argentina and Iceland shared the spoils in an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on Saturday afternoon.

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi missed the chance to score his sixth World Cup goal in the 64th minute when Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson parried his shot from a penalty.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that Messi's penalty miss affected his performance for the rest of the game, coupled with his eleven attempted shots which did not result in a goal.

''Messi had the opportunity to score from the penalty spot at a time when it was most needed. This failure affected him,'' Mourinho told RT.

''After he again made attempts to score, but this could not be done. Basically, the three of them played against him. But there were times when he could stay with one defender''.

The Portuguese gaffer has said that Iceland parked the bus against Argentina : ''I think the result is fair. Iceland acted at the maximum of its capabilities. It was not necessary to expect anything from them.

''Their game can be described as compact. Ten players played in the penalty area. I did not see that only one football player remained with Messi.''

Nigeria will face Iceland at the Volgograd Arena, Volgograd on June 22 before wrapping up group play against the South Americans four days later in Saint Petersburg.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : fifa.com