World Cup: Best of Group D – Rojo saves Argentina and Croatia are perfect
By Orri Benatar
The Group of Death had a surprise winner and an epic conclusion. Argentina is still alive by the skin of their teeth and moves on.
Group D had incredible games, goals, moments, and more. It was the Group of Death before we started and that last spot in the Round of 16 was decided in the last minutes. Argentina began the group with a disappointing draw with Iceland and a humiliating 3-0 loss to group winners Croatia.
Lionel Messi helped rally the troops and Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1 with Marcos Rojo’s 86th-minute winner. The Man United defender have a sublime finish to win it. Croatia won the group with a perfect record and only conceding a penalty against Iceland. They are a force in this tournament and can make a semifinal run. Nigeria went home with Iceland. Half of the bracket is done.
Half of the round of 16 is set!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 26, 2018
That potential Portugal vs Argentina quarterfinal matchup thoughhhh 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZwKkUlGPGh
Best Game: Nigeria 1-2 Argentina
Drama, controversy, memes, and a last-gasp goal to send a nation into a frenzy. Marcos Rojo’s winner saved his 22 teammates from utter disgrace as Argentina were minutes from going home. Diego Maradona’s celebrations will definitely be remembered and so will the VAR decisions. The win means Argentina will play France to start the knockout stage. Couldn’t get any better than that.
MARCOS ROJO PUTS ARGENTINA AHEAD! pic.twitter.com/3yrzeq7hSu
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 26, 2018
Best Moment: Halldorsson saves Messi penalty
While Rojo’s goal was something I will never forget, Argentina have had bigger moments than that goal. One of the greatest if not THE greatest moment in Icelandic football history was when part-time filmmaker Hannes Halldorsson saved a Lionel Messi penalty. That save helped Iceland to their first and only World Cup point. The Vikings will go home proud despite finishing last in the group.
Best Player: Luka Modric
This one isn’t even close. Modric was spectacular for Croatia as he always is everytime he steps on a football pitch. He scored two goals and had an average rating of 7.6 in the group stage. He will be back on Sunday when Croatia play Denmark in the Round of 16. Modric will be the key if Croatia wants to make a 1998-like run in Russia.
Let’s take a break from the Argentina criticism for a second, and take a second to praise the best player on the pitch.
— Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) June 21, 2018
Luka Modrić is one of the greatest midfielders in the history of football, and deserves to be treated as such. Cherish every single second of his magic.
Best Goal: Modric’s strike against Argentina
This strike was amazing. Modric just curled it past Caballero and sent Messi and Argentina into a pit of despair. I would put this goal in the conversation for goal of the tournament. The technique is perfect and came out of nowhere.
https://twitter.com/Eastbay/status/1009885599019536384