Hannes Halldorsson was the hero for Iceland as the goalkeeper’s penalty save from Lionel Messi secured his side a sensational 1-1 draw against Argentina.
READ: Messi misses penalty as Iceland hold Argentina
With Diego Maradona watching on from the stands, Messi failed to convert from the spot in the second half of an eventful Group D opener at the Otkrytie Arena in Moscow.
Sergio Aguero had fired the beaten finalists from four years ago ahead in the 19th minute, finally breaking his World Cup duck at the ninth attempt with a rising left-footed drive.
Yet debutants Iceland refused to melt on the main stage, Alfred Finnbogason capitalising on Willy Caballero’s weak punch to score his country’s maiden goal in the history of the tournament just four minutes later.
Iceland were indebted to Halldorsson for picking up a point, though, as he kept out Messi’s spot-kick shortly after the hour mark.
Argentina will hope to inject some impetus into their campaign when they face Croatia in Nizhny on Thursday, while Iceland go up against Nigeria in Volgograd the following day.
