Group D of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 16 to 26 June 2018. The group consisted of Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, and Nigeria. The top two teams, Croatia and Argentina, advanced to the round of 16.
Teams Draw position Team Pot Confederation Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings October 2017 June 2018 D1 1 CONMEBOL CONMEBOL Round Robin third place 10 October 2017 17th 2014 (runners-up) Winners (1978, 1986) 4 5 D2 3 UEFA UEFA Group I winners 9 October 2017 1st – – 21 22 D3 2 UEFA UEFA second round winners 12 November 2017 5th 2014 (group stage) Third place (1998) 18 20 D4 4 CAF CAF third round Group B winners 7 October 2017 6th 2014 (round of 16) Round of 16 (1994, 1998, 2014) 41 48
Notes
Standings
In the round of 16: The winners of Group D, Croatia, advanced to play the runners-up of Group C, Denmark. The runners-up of Group D, Argentina, advanced to play the winners of Group C, France.
Matches All times listed are local time.
Argentina vs Iceland
The two teams had never met before.
Despite stamping their authority on the game's opening stages, Argentina struggled to find space against the Icelandic defence. Argentina then scored in the 19th minute, Sergio Agüero scoring with a powerful left foot shot to the top left corner of the net giving them a 1–0 lead. Alfreð Finnbogason made history by scoring his country's first World Cup goal just four minutes later when he slotted to the net from six yards out after the ball broke to him from six yards out. Argentina then had the chance to go ahead again when Hörður Björgvin Magnússon pushed Maximiliano Meza inside the box after 64 minutes. Hannes Þór Halldórsson dove to his right to deny Lionel Messi a goal. Although Argentina continued to press for a goal, but they were repeatedly denied by the Icelandics' defense.
Argentina failed to win their opening match at a World Cup tournament for the first time since losing to Cameroon in 1990, and it was the first time that they drew their opener in the competition. Argentina have missed their last two penalties taken at a World Cup finals (excluding shoot-outs), with Ariel Ortega failing to convert against Sweden in 2002 before Messi's effort against Iceland in 2018. The Iceland forward's goal after 23 minutes was the earliest scored for a nation playing in their first World Cup match since Rashidi Yekini netted after 21 minutes for Nigeria against Bulgaria on 21 June 1994.
GK 23Willy CaballeroRB 18Eduardo SalvioCB 17Nicolás OtamendiCB 16Marcos RojoLB 3 Nicolás TagliaficoCM 14Javier MascheranoCM 5 Lucas Biglia RW 13Maximiliano Meza AM 10Lionel Messi (c)LW 11Ángel Di María CF 19Sergio AgüeroSubstitutions:MF 7 Éver Banega MF 22Cristian Pavón FW 9 Gonzalo Higuaín Manager:Jorge Sampaoli GK 1 Hannes Þór HalldórssonRB 2 Birkir Már SævarssonCB 14Kári ÁrnasonCB 6 Ragnar SigurðssonLB 18Hörður Björgvin MagnússonDM 10Gylfi SigurðssonCM 17Aron Gunnarsson (c) CM 20Emil HallfreðssonRW 7 Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson LW 8 Birkir BjarnasonCF 11Alfreð Finnbogason Substitutions:MF 19Rúrik Gíslason DF 23Ari Freyr Skúlason FW 9Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson Manager:Heimir Hallgrímsson
Man of the Match: Hannes Þór Halldórsson (Iceland)
Assistant referees: Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland) Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland) Fourth official: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia) Reserve assistant referee: Alexander Guzmán (Colombia) Video assistant referee: Mark Geiger (United States) Assistant video assistant referees: Paweł Gil (Poland) Joe Fletcher (Canada) Gery Vargas (Bolivia)
Croatia vs Nigeria The two teams had never met before.
Ivan Perišić went closest to hitting the target with an effort from 20 metres after a quarter of an hour, but in the end it was Nigeria midfielder Peter Etebo who brought joy to the huge Croatian contingent in Kaliningrad, beating his own goalkeeper with the ball going into the left corner of the net following a Luka Modrić corner from the right which had been deflected off Perišić and Mario Mandžukić. Alex Iwobi, after wriggling into space on the left side of the box, he hit a shot directly into a Croatia defender. Ante Rebić fired over from Perišić's left-wing centre, with Odion Ighalo's header recording the match's first shot on target in the 59th minute. William Troost-Ekong was penalised for holding Mandžukić in the penalty area, and Modrić sent Francis Uzoho the wrong way from 12 yards for his first World Cup goal, shooting low to the left corner.
Croatia have won their opening game of a World Cup for the first time since their debut in the competition in 1998 (3–1 vs Jamaica). Nigeria became the first team in World Cup history to concede two consecutive own goals in the competition, with their last goal shipped in 2014, against France in the last 16, also coming in this manner.
GK 23Danijel SubašićRB 2 Šime VrsaljkoCB 21Domagoj VidaCB 6 Dejan LovrenLB 3 Ivan StrinićCM 7 Ivan Rakitić CM 10Luka Modrić (c)RW 18Ante Rebić AM 9 Andrej Kramarić LW 4 Ivan PerišićCF 17Mario Mandžukić Substitutions:MF 11Marcelo Brozović MF 8 Mateo Kovačić FW 20Marko Pjaca Manager:Zlatko Dalić GK 23Francis UzohoRB 12Shehu AbdullahiCB 6 Leon BalogunCB 5 William Troost-Ekong LB 2 Brian IdowuCM 4 Wilfred NdidiCM 8 Peter EteboRW 11Victor MosesAM 10John Obi Mikel (c) LW 18Alex Iwobi CF 9 Odion Ighalo Substitutions:FW 7 Ahmed Musa FW 14Kelechi Iheanacho FW 13Simy Manager: Gernot Rohr
Man of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)
Assistant referees: Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil) Marcelo Van Gasse (Brazil) Fourth official: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain) Reserve assistant referee: Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain) Video assistant referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy) Assistant video assistant referees: Wilton Sampaio (Brazil) Carlos Astroza (Chile) Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)
Argentina vs Croatia The two teams had met in four matches, including one game at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, an Argentina 1–0 victory.
Ivan Perišić surged into space down the left and shot towards the bottom-right corner, which was tipped around the post by Willy Caballero. A Dejan Lovren block prevented Maximiliano Meza's low strike finding the net and then Marcos Acuña's cross clipped the top of Danijel Subašić's crossbar. Enzo Pérez struck wide from 15 yards. Three minutes later, Mario Mandžukić flashed a header wide of Caballero's right-hand post from six yards. Eight minutes into the second half, Ante Rebić shot a right foot volley past Caballero after the goalkeeper's mishit an attempted chip over his head. Subašić kept out Meza's close-range effort from substitute Gonzalo Higuaín's cutback. With ten minutes remaining Luka Modrić curled in from 20 yards with his right foot to the right corner of the net to score Croatia's second. Ivan Rakitić was fouled by Javier Mascherano – Nicolás Otamendi receiving a booking for appearing to kick the ball towards Rakitić's head as tempers flared – and crashed the resulting free-kick against the crossbar. Rakitić in the 91st minute, though, slotted home from the centre of the box after his initial shot deflected off Caballero and found Mateo Kovačić who passed it back to Rakitić from the left. With their second win in a row, Croatia advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1998, having been eliminated in 2002, 2006 and 2014 editions.
This was Croatia's first victory in five attempts against a South American team at the World Cup, having lost the previous four. This was Argentina's heaviest defeat in the first-round group stage of a World Cup since losing 6–1 to Czechoslovakia in 1958. Argentina failed to win either of their opening two group stage matches for the first time since 1974.
GK 23Willy CaballeroCB 2 Gabriel Mercado CB 17Nicolás Otamendi CB 3 Nicolás TagliaficoRM 18Eduardo Salvio CM 14Javier MascheranoCM 15Enzo Pérez LM 8 Marcos Acuña RF 10Lionel Messi (c)CF 19Sergio Agüero LF 13Maximiliano MezaSubstitutions:FW 9 Gonzalo Higuaín MF 22Cristian Pavón FW 21Paulo Dybala Manager:Jorge Sampaoli GK 23Danijel SubašićRB 2 Šime Vrsaljko CB 6 Dejan LovrenCB 21Domagoj VidaLB 3 Ivan StrinićCM 7 Ivan RakitićCM 11Marcelo BrozovićRW 18Ante Rebić AM 10Luka Modrić (c)LW 4 Ivan Perišić CF 17Mario Mandžukić Substitutions:FW 9 Andrej Kramarić MF 8 Mateo Kovačić DF 5 Vedran Ćorluka Manager:Zlatko Dalić
Man of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)
Assistant referees: Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan) Jakhongir Saidov (Uzbekistan) Fourth official: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti) Reserve assistant referee: Bertrand Brial (New Caledonia) Video assistant referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany) Assistant video assistant referees: Bastian Dankert (Germany) Corey Rockwell (United States) Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)
Nigeria vs Iceland
The two teams had met only once, in a friendly game in 1981, won by Iceland 3–0.
Gylfi Sigurðsson shot a sixth-minute chance straight at Francis Uzoho. In the last minute of the first half, Alfreð Finnbogason was unable to get a decisive touch on Sigurðsson's free-kick delivered from the right wing. In the 49th minute, Victor Moses' cross was collected by Ahmed Musa, who first controlled it in the air with his right foot before scoring on the half-volley powerfully to the net. Hannes Þór Halldórsson tipped over a deflected drive from Wilfred Ndidi. In the 75th minute, fed by Kenneth Omeruo, Musa burst clear in the left channel, cut inside and rounded Halldórsson before scoring with his right foot. A late VAR review spotted that substitute Tyronne Ebuehi had tripped Finnbogason, with Sigurðsson's spot-kick effort clearing the crossbar.
Iceland are the third World Cup debutants from Europe to have faced Nigeria at the tournament, and on every occasion Nigeria have emerged victorious, following victories against Greece (2–0) in 1994 and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1–0) in 2014. Uzoho is the second youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup match (19 years, 237 days), behind only Li Chan-myung in North Korea's 1–0 win over Italy in July 1966 (19 years, 198 days). This is Nigeria's first victory in a World Cup game by a margin of more than one goal since they beat Greece 2–0 in 1994 at their first World Cup tournament. This was Iceland's first group stage's defeat in any big tournament.
GK 23Francis UzohoCB 22Kenneth OmeruoCB 5 William Troost-EkongCB 6 Leon BalogunDM 10John Obi Mikel (c)CM 8 Peter Etebo CM 4 Wilfred NdidiRW 11Victor MosesLW 2 Brian Idowu CF 7 Ahmed MusaCF 14Kelechi Iheanacho Substitutions:DF 21Tyronne Ebuehi FW 9 Odion Ighalo FW 18Alex Iwobi Manager: Gernot Rohr GK 1 Hannes Þór HalldórssonRB 2 Birkir Már SævarssonCB 14Kári ÁrnasonCB 6 Ragnar Sigurðsson LB 18Hörður Björgvin MagnússonRM 19Rúrik GíslasonCM 17Aron Gunnarsson (c) CM 10Gylfi SigurðssonLM 8 Birkir BjarnasonCF 22Jón Daði Böðvarsson CF 11Alfreð FinnbogasonSubstitutions:DF 5 Sverrir Ingi Ingason FW 9 Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson DF 23Ari Freyr Skúlason Manager:Heimir Hallgrímsson
Man of the Match: Ahmed Musa (Nigeria)
Assistant referees: Simon Lount (New Zealand) Tevita Makasini (Tonga) Fourth official: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica) Reserve assistant referee: Hiroshi Yamauchi (Japan) Video assistant referee: Massimiliano Irrati (Italy) Assistant video assistant referees: Paweł Gil (Poland) Elenito Di Liberatore (Italy) Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Nigeria vs Argentina The two teams had met in eight matches, including four games at FIFA World Cup group stages, in 1994, 2002, 2010 and 2014, all won by Argentina.