Halldorsson: 'A dream come true to save Messi's penalty kick'

"I did some homework. This was a situation which I knew could come up. I looked at a lot of penalties from Messi and had a good feeling that he would go this way today," Halldorsson said.

Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson saves Lionel Messi's penalty.

Argentina's talisman Lionel Messi came a cropper as he fluffed a penalty in his team's opener against Iceland.

The Barcelona star saw his second-half penalty saved by Hannes Thor Halldorsson as Iceland marked its World Cup debut with an unlikely point in Moscow.

It was a frustrating game for Messi, who constantly tried to find the back of the net but was denied time and time again. Only Italy's Luigi Riva (13) mustered more shots in a World Cup game without scoring than Messi, who unleashed 11 strikes without success.

Argentina finished the game with 78.4% possession, but no matter how much of the ball Messi and co. had, they just couldn't break down a wonderfully well-organised Iceland defence.

Read: Finnbogason makes history as Messi fluffs his big chance

Halldorsson was ecstatic after the game and hoped the solitary point would go a long way in helping his team qualify for the next stage of the World Cup. "For me as a goalkeeper to play for Iceland and face the best player in the world at a penalty is a big moment and a dream come true to save it, especially as it helped us get a big point which I hope is going to prove important to us. It is our goal to qualify," he said.

"I did some homework. This was a situation which I knew could come up. I looked at a lot of penalties from Messi and had a good feeling that he would go this way today," he added.

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli summed up the game by saying, "We played against a team that was well structured. We have to find more variations to cause discomfort in the rival's defence. We group came looking for the three points, but this is just the beginning. We have to have the strength to face the next game."