World Cup group D: Argentina vs. Iceland starting teams, kick-off time and TV channel

Iceland prepare for the ‘biggest game in
their history’ against Lionel Messi and Co

One-Minute Read

Playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson and captain Aron Gunnarsson are both
fit to face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the group D clash at the
Spartak Stadium in Moscow (2pm UK time, live on ITV).

In fact Iceland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson has a fully-fit
squad to choose from for the game he describes as the “biggest in
the history of Iceland”.

Hallgrimsson told ESPN: “Everyone is ready to play and everyone
wants to play. The team has been stable for the last four years. We
are 20th in the FIFA list and [have] won very important
games. 

“We won our group in the qualifying for the World Cup. We
deserve to be here, so we do not see it as a miracle that we here
in the World Cup.”

In the run-up to the finals Argentina suffered a double
injury blow when West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini and Manchester
United goalkeeper Sergio Romero were ruled out because of knee
injuries.

Lanzini was replaced in the squad by River Plate midfielder Enzo
Perez and Romero’s place went to Tigres’ Nahuel Guzman. Chelsea
keeper Willy Caballero is likely to start, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Group D fixtures and live TV channels

• 16 June: Argentina vs. Iceland (2pm, ITV); Croatia vs. Nigeria
  (8pm, ITV) 
• 21 June: Argentina vs. Croatia (7pm, BBC) 
• 22 June: Nigeria vs. Iceland (4pm, BBC) 
• 26 June: Iceland vs. Croatia (7pm, BBC); Argentina vs. Nigeria
  (7pm, BBC)

Messi will lead Argentina’s attack and Iceland boss Hallgrimsson
says it will take a team effort to stop him. He told the BBC: “Regarding Messi, I don’t have a magic
formula. Everybody has tried everything against him and he always
manages to score. He is one of the best players in the world.
We will play against him like everything we do, we’ll do it
together. We’ll help each other and try to do it as a team.”

The other group D match on Saturday is between Croatia and
Nigeria in Kaliningrad (8pm kick-off, live on ITV).

Argentina vs. Iceland starting XIs

Argentina starting XI: Willy Caballero, Eduardo Salvio, Nicolas
Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lucas Biglia, Javier
Mascherano, Maximiliano Meza, Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria, Sergio
Aguero