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World Cup 2018

5 shots from World Cup 2018 Day 8 – Yes, Icelanders can have sex too!

Painted face of an Icelandic fan
Painted face of an Icelandic fan REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
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  • Nigeria did well on day three

That 2-0 defeat to Croatia in Kaliningrad doesn’t look so bad now. It wasn’t the 3-0 humiliation that Argentina suffered. Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic racked up the goals as Lionel Messi and his men appeared increasingly clueless. Croatia are into the last 16 as a result of the romp and Argentina face Nigeria in St Petersburg on day 13 needing to beat the west Africans handsomely. That looks like a tall order. Victory, sure. But Russia v Saudi Arabia type thrashing? Unlikely.

  • The Messi role – operating in a space behind the World Cup

Two games in and that’s 4-0 to the Ronaldo. While Cristiano Ronaldo gushes potency in front of the goal, the Real Madrid man’s La Liga rival, Lionel Messi, is foraging in zones thwarted by the tactics of other teams.

Ronaldo has produced goals from a thunderous header, a spectacular free-kick, a long range shot – admittedly fumbled by the goalkeeper – and a penalty. What’s Messi done? Fluffed a spot kick against Iceland and generally been unable to replicate his dazzling form for Barcelona on the international stage. Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has to take the blame for not exploiting the talents of one of the world's best players.

  • Sing a song of Shin Tae-yong

A few days ago the South Korea coach, Shin Tae-yong, played a postmodern irony blinder. Embracing the cliché that all Asians look alike, he admitted he swapped around the players’ shirt numbers during training to thwart the big blonde Swedes who were allegedly trying to spy on South Korean patterns.

So praise the Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr who on the eve of their day nine match decided to tell his players – mostly big and black that, when they take on Iceland, they will be looking at their future selves. This would make many a Nigerian blench. But Rohr meant it - we hope - from a footballing prospect.

“They’re playing like a team – but so are Nigeria," he said. "They don’t have big stars – we don’t have big stars - so it will be a match of two collectives: one experienced one - which is Iceland - and one which is young - which is us. It will be interesting to see how it goes.” Let’s rename it the World Soul Cup.

  • An Icelandic sex saga

The Iceland squad arrived in Volgograd on day eight to prepare for their day nine clash against Nigeria. Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and skipper Aron Gunnarsson were politeness incarnate as they responded to questions during the pre-match amble with the media: team working hard; collective is the star; fighting for all Iceland; opportunity to see their families.

Euphemism time. And on that note, some lads from Icelandic TV wanted a response - in Icelandic - about whether the coach had placed his players on a sex ban. “What? You’re going to broadcast that?” asked a startled Hallgrimsson. But in a flash, it became clear why Hallgrimsson had chosen Gunnarsson to lead the team into battle. The 29-year-old midfielder stepped in manfully and declared: “Yes, there has been a sex ban … until our wives and girlfriends arrive …” Hallgrimsson, given the extra seconds to recover his composure, added: “No, it has not been banned.”

  • Mind the one track mind

After being quizzed about sex, what could be more organic than being dazzled by statistics? The nation’s first ever match in a football World Cup was, so the data says, watched by 99.6 per cent of the 334,000 souls that inhabit the Iceland. “We’ve always spoken about the support we’ve felt from the people back home,” said skipper Aron Gunnarsson.

“The figures for the match against Argentina just show how many people feel involved and want to see us do well.

It definitely shows that we are doing something right.” As the coach Heimir Hallgrimsson looked lyrically lost in a hazy hinterland of melting ice maidens and bubbling natural springs, Gunnarsson added: “It’s important for us to feel that togetherness from our people because we’re not just doing it for us, we’re doing it for them to be proud of us and that’s why we put everything out there on the pitch.” And your view, Mr Hallgrimsson? … Mr Hallgrimsson? Your view? “Oh, I’ve nothing to add ...

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