NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia (Reuters) - For anyone who has ever missed a penalty at any level, there was some consolation on Saturday - Lionel Messi can miss them too. Soccer Football - World Cup - Group D - Argentina vs Iceland - Spartak Stadium, Moscow, Russia - June 16, 2018 Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after the match REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach With the world watching him in a World Cup opener against Iceland, the normally brilliant Messi struck a weak spot kick that was saved, leaving Argentina with a disappointing 1-1 draw. Messi’s failure was all the more bitter given his long-time rival for current world’s best - Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo - easily converted a penalty the day before. On a remarkable day of five penalties during Saturday’s matches, Peru’s Christian Cueva then repeated Messi’s failure, arguably even upstaging it by skying his penalty high over the bar in a game Denmark went on to win 1-0. Messi left the field looking daggers, Cueva in tears. Before them, France and Australia showed in Saturday’s early game how to do it, each comfortably converting a spot kick in a match the Europeans won 2-1. And Croatia completed an extraordinary day in the box when Luka Modric scored a penalty in his side’s 2-0 defeat of Nigeria in the fourth and last game. The five penalties on Saturday have only been surpassed on one World Cup day in more than four decades, when six were given in France on June 24th, 1998. But it is not just the number and varying quality of penalties astonishing fans at this World Cup: the new Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system has ramped controversy up to a whole new level. When France striker Antoine Griezmann fell on Saturday during a sliding challenge from Australia defender Josh Risdon, Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha first thought it a fair tackle. Slideshow ( 2 images ) But he was summoned to review the VAR footage and, after deliberation, awarded the spot kick - to the fury of the Socceroos. SHADES OF BAGGIO ‘94 Australia coach Bert van Marwijk felt Cunha was still undecided even after seeing the replay but he acknowledged how tough it can be for the men in black with thousands of baying fans: “He’s also a human being and everybody makes mistakes.” Griezmann’s well-struck shot was the first VAR-awarded penalty at a World Cup. “I think it’s a penalty because he trips my left foot and then when I get up, I feel some pain, there was no diving,” said the Frenchman. Peruvian fans were disconsolate after they outplayed Denmark for large periods, piled the pressure on, but missed a penalty and lost 1-0. Yet Peru’s coach Ricardo Gareca had only words of encouragement after Cueva left the field hiding his face. “After the penalty, he stayed in there, he was asking for the ball ... He is a strong personality,” he said. Iceland’s man-of-the-match Hannes Halldorsson revealed he had not only been studying Messi’s penalties - but also going back to his own movements so as to outwit the Argentines. “I also looked at how I had been behaving in previous penalties, so I tried to get into their mindset, how they would be thinking about me,” said Halldorsson, who dived correctly to add to Messi’s miserable run of four misses from seven penalties this past season. Inevitably, after Messi and Cueva’s spectacular misses, fans and commentators immediately went looking for memorable comparisons. English ex-forward and pundit Gary Lineker compared Cueva’s miss to a similarly-ballooned penalty by Italy’s Roberto Baggio that gave the 1994 World Cup to Brazil. “Don’t need VAR to see that go over the bar,” Lineker commented wryly of Cueva’s now infamous effort.<doc-sep>I just had to do it, didn't I? You had figured - no, you had hoped; you had grovelled and begged to whatever God you choose to believe in - that you would go one day of your existence without being subjected to this conversation. But here we are, stuck in the same rabbit-hole that has swallowed millions before. It cannot be a mere coincidence that Messi misses a penalty a day after Ronaldo scores one, that too as part of a hat-trick. It cannot be a mere coincidence that Messi's team suffers a draw against WC debutants, while Ronaldo scores the first ever WC hat-trick against former champions Spain. It has to mean something. It has to be a sign from the heavens. It must be a reply to millions of prayers day and night pondering the same question over and over again. It must be the final piece in the puzzle of who is the greatest footballer of all time is. Some of you already know the answer to this question. You have shouted it from rooftops, and when it did not seem to work you made multiple accounts on countless social networking sites and spent your night time typing it out so that others could get enlightened as well. Now is your time to shine. To show the rest of the world that you were hip to this scene long before them. That you had known this all along. To those of you, I bow in respect. You may not have to read further, as it is nothing you already do not know. Go forth then on your noble online battles! In these trying times, people often try to convince others that their opinions are wrong To the rest of you are here, do not worry. I'll help you figure this out. The question: What does Messi's missed penalty mean for the Ronaldo-Messi debate? See what I did there? I switched the order of the names. Is it because it is important? What does this all mean? Here's the answer: Nothing. Zilch. Nada. NOTHING. All that missed penalty means is that Messi missed a penalty. This match has taken us no closer to the answer than the next 10 matches without Messi scoring will. This match has taken us no closer to the answer than if Ronaldo scores a hat-trick of own goals in the next 100 matches. On further inspection, one finds that the premise of the question itself is wrong. There is no "best footballer", in the sense that there is no "best color". Some people like green. Some like blue. Some people like red, but this is no place to judge them. And if you are edgy, you think black is your favorite color. In the same vein, people can like different footballers. I know it is hard to digest, but bear with me. Sometimes, it is possible to like - gasp - two different footballers from two different teams without feeling dirty all over! Here is the difference between opinions and facts: "Ronaldo scored three goals yesterday" is a fact. "Ronaldo scored three of the greatest goals in history yesterday" is an opinion. "Messi never scored goals as good as Ronaldo", no matter how bad, is still an opinion. Opinions are the basis of society. Opinion is what everything rotates around. Without opinions, we will all be wearing the same charcoal grey one-sie and eating the same lunch every day. Opinions are good, as long as they are not imposed on others. Opinions are good as long as they are recognised as such - nothing more than opinions. So, ignore the awards that try to tell you someone is a better footballer than the other. Ignore the rabid fan-base that tries to convince you that one is a better player than the other. Ignore former players who swear one is the better player, and then tell you tomorrow that the other is a better footballer. Besides, there is more to football than this madness. Football is not just Messi and Ronaldo. I am sure if you put in the time, you can find a third name. Not everything has to be reduced to this arbitrary argument that gets worse by the hour. The next time someone asks you who is better - Messi or Ronaldo, refuse to answer on principle. Refuse to answer it on the grounds that you don't want to. Or, just shrug your shoulders and say "Actually, I think it is..." and drop a random name. It doesn't even have to be a footballer.<doc-sep>Roughly 19 hours after Cristiano Ronaldo sent soccer’s version of a meteor soaring through the Sochi night, Lionel Messi sent a free kick of his own clattering into an Icelandic wall. Seconds later, a whistle blew. Messi lashed out at the ball in frustration. And takes flew. Takes of all kinds. Messi always chokes! Messi is crumbling under pressure! And worst of all: Messi is no longer the GOAT! After Messi missed a penalty in Argentina’s 1-1 draw with Iceland, there was no stopping them. No hiding from the onslaught, nor repelling it. But now that it’s hopefully subsided, and now that emotions are hopefully no longer clouding logic, can we please acknowledge how absurd that idea – that Ronaldo, on the back of 21 hours in Russia, surpassed Messi – is? Saturday was not Messi’s finest moment. As Sergio Aguero said after the match, “he’s human.” But the argument that 180 minutes would separate two players who have played roughly 130,000 combined minutes of professional soccer in their careers is just preposterous. Messi has scored plenty of hat tricks, including one to singlehandedly drag Argentina to the 2018 World Cup. Ronaldo has missed plenty of penalties, including two in Champions League semifinals; one in a Champions League final shootout; and, oh by the way, one in the Euro 2016 group stage that cost Portugal two points. GOAT debates weren’t decided on those nights, just as they weren’t decided when this same Iceland team shut down Ronaldo two years ago, just as they weren’t when Messi won a 2014 World Cup group stage game in stoppage time, just as they weren’t when Messi skipped by a Swiss defender and set up a 117th-minute winner two weeks later. Recency bias is a heck of a drug, but let’s let the effects wear off before we start spouting nonsense. As great as Ronaldo’s performance was, and as fallible as Messi was, we’ll forget about those 21 hours if Messi leads Argentina to the semis while Ronaldo and Portugal flame out without a knockout round victory. Story continues Which is why the biggest loser of Day 3 at the 2018 World Cup wasn’t Messi; it wasn’t Argentina; it was … Loser: Rationality Unless you were right on the fence of the Ronaldo-Messi dispute entering the World Cup, Friday and Saturday shouldn’t change your opinion. Oh, and it doesn’t change the fact that at club level – where the vast majority of professional soccer is played, and which is the best barometer for a variety of other reasons – Messi eclipses Ronaldo in almost every relevant category. Loser: Lionel Messi Messi was certainly a loser on the day as well. He was a loser for a few reasons, all of which were encapsulated in his postmatch reaction. He ripped off his captain’s armband, and stood near midfield, dumbfounded, either soaking up the scene or simply too exhausted and exasperated to move. Lionel Messi reacts to Argentina’s 1-1 draw with Iceland. (Getty) We’ll refrain from amateur psychology, but if Messi were fed up with his teammates, it would be tough to blame him. It’s not that they were inept; it’s that their dependence on him has become so ingrained, so habitual, that there is no Plan B. And in many cases, it’s not that those players incapable of providing Plan Bs; it’s that they don’t even try. Messi, of course, was also fed up with himself, and he took responsibility after the match. “The penalty would have changed everything,” he said. But he won’t fail like that again in Russia. The real issue for Argentina Saturday was that it looks like Messi can’t afford to be anything less than a superstar if La Albiceleste is going to make a deep run. Winner: Scandinavian goalkeepers who may or may not be film directors Saturday’s star was Icelandic goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorson. Not only did he swat away Messi’s penalty; he made six saves in all, including this massive diving stop in injury time: Another brilliant save from Hannes Halldórsson. Stays calm, waits for it to pass the players in front before making a a decision and then reacts. On earlier showing, a situation Caballero might have panicked in to committing himself to block. pic.twitter.com/GHhG0ZpgsR — David Preece (@davidpreece12) June 16, 2018 He also has an IMDb page; he was the director of Iceland’s 2012 Eurovision contest entry; and his was the mind behind this fantastic pre-World Cup commercial: Halldorsson is winning in multiple fields. But he wasn’t the only Scandinavian goalkeeper to star on Saturday. Denmark’s Kasper Schmeichel made six saves of his own, two of which were heroic stops in the second half to preserve a 1-0 victory over Peru. Kasper Schmeichel is doing his best brick wall impression. pic.twitter.com/WJ1j93rqPH — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2018 Loser: Peru in the penalty box Peru-Denmark was the most entertaining match of the day. So why did it yield only one goal? [Shoots accusatory glance at Peru.] The Peruvians were excellent overall. But we’ll get to that in a second. Because when they crossed a white line at the end of the field they were attacking, everything went awry. They missed all kinds of opportunities. They screwed shots wide. They were repelled by Schmeichel. More often than not, they overelaborated and didn’t get off proper shots. Peru miss ANOTHER chance to go in front! pic.twitter.com/IlySQhUUUG — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2018 And Christian Cueva, the best player on the field, skied a first-half penalty waaaaay over the crossbar. Cueva's penalty was … not close. pic.twitter.com/djigVYt9EE — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 16, 2018 Winner: Peru everywhere else But set aside the penalty miss. And set aside the result. Peru won over a lot of hearts and minds on Saturday. It played exhilarating, radiant soccer. Cueva, in particular, dazzled all night. It was tough to not cry with him as his emotions cracked after the wayward pen, and again at the final whistle. And when we label Peru a winner, we aren’t just talking about the 11 players on the field, or manager Ricardo Gareca.<doc-sep>The Argentina captain missed a chance to take victory for his nation, but he has the backing of one of the Albiceleste's heroes Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has leapt to Lionel Messi's defence after seeing the star err from the penalty spot against Iceland. With Saturday's World Cup Group D opener poised at 1-1, Messi had the chance to restore Argentina's advantage when Maxi Meza was shoved in the area. Iceland's goalkeeper and part-time film director Hannes Halldorsson, however, had other ideas, keeping out the penalty with a strong save to ensure a share of the points. But Maradona pointed out that even the best players can make mistakes from 12 yards out - including himself. "I missed five penalties in a row and I was still Diego Armando Maradona," the 1986 World Cup winner explained to Telesur. "The game and the two points lost by the team are not down to his penalty. "He showed his face and gave everything he had to give. The 'kid' did his duty. "Seeing him on the field, he was pretty pissed off. Just like I would have been. It was all him, he always had to shrug two players off and when he did, there was no pass open." Maradona has focused criticism on coach Jorge Sampaoli, whom he believes should not return to Argentina if the team continues to struggle. Article continues below But the colourful former Albiceleste boss nevertheless believes that his nation can turn things around - with a bit of help from up above. "Whether you win, lose or draw, it is always 11 players on the pitch. But you have to see how you win, lose and draw," he added. "We are closer to losing the coming games. We are in big trouble, but we still believe in God and that we can improve. I hope the lads get better."<doc-sep>
Last updated on .From the section World Cup Lionel Messi says it "hurts" after his penalty was saved during Argentina's draw with Iceland. The 30-year-old Barcelona star's second-half spot-kick was easily stopped by opposition keeper Hannes Halldorsson with the score at 1-1. Messi was looking to match the impact his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo has made so far with a sensational hat-trick against Spain on Friday night. "It would have changed the script. It was the advantage," he said. "Obviously it hurts me to have missed the penalty. They would have opened a little more and we could have found more spaces. "We have the bitterness of not being able to take the three points that we deserved. To start with winning is always important, now we have to think about Croatia. "We will try to pass this quickly. " Messi said Iceland's tactic's made it hard for his side claiming "they did not want to play" but admitted that Heimir Hallgrimsson's team "closed well". The Argentina skipper has now missed four of the last seven penalties that he has taken for club and country combined. He continued to try for a way through against Iceland with 11 attempted shots, the most he's ever tried in a World Cup game, but was left frustrated. Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli dismissed his star player's penalty set-back as a "statistic" and praised his attitude in a difficult game. "To evaluate and characterise Lionel Messi's work is difficult because it was an uncomfortable match for him," he said. "Iceland played very defensively, blocking all spaces but we did everything we could to win. Leo is very committed to Argentina. "We always come to win so that's why there is a certain amount of frustration." Argentina face Croatia next on Thursday at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium (19:00 BST). Homework analysis - the secrets to Iceland keeper's penalty save Iceland's goalkeeper Halldorsson directed the video for his country's 2012 Eurovision song contest entry Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson revealed the lengths he took to ensure he was best-placed to stop Messi's spot-kick. The 34-year-old part-time video director said: "I did some homework because I knew it was a situation that could come up. OK, it's a long shot but it happened. "I looked at a lot of penalties by Messi and I also watched penalties I have faced so I could see how I looked to penalty-takers. I had a good feeling he would go that way. "It's a dream come true for me to have saved that penalty, especially as it helped us gain a point that could be very important for us in trying to qualify from this group.