Ranking every World Cup Team Performance after the First Round of Group Games

#20 Argentina

Two-time world champions Argentina took on Euro 2016's surprise package Iceland in their World cup opener. The Iceland defensive system was a difficult puzzle to crack, even for one of the greatest players to ever step on a football pitch. A frustrating draw for the Argentines against a dogged Iceland team who will be delighted with their display.

Argentina had the start they would have desired. Sergio Aguero has been criticized for his displays in major tournaments for Argentina before but he rose to the occasion and blasted home a superb strike beating the excellent Halldorsson. However, the Argentines, in a moment of lapse of concentration, let Iceland equalize four minutes later. Lionel Messi missed a penalty won by the impressive Maximiliano Meza. Another disappointing moment for the little magician in the famous Blue and White shirt.

The Argentina defenders were all over the place for the goal and will certainly face more difficult moments as the tournament progresses. But they were largely undisturbed in a match that saw Argentina have more than 3/4ths of the possession. The key area of improvement for Argentina will be their ability to carve out clear-cut chances. Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria were responsible for this aspect of the game. Messi, in particular, was crowded out by the brilliant defensive midfielders of Iceland. Di Maria, on the other hand, was unable to impact the game with either his crossing or his flair. Maximiliano Meza and Eduardo Salvio were threatening but they too were stifled by their adaptive opponents.

Sampaoli and his Argentina team will need to find creativity from the likes of Ever Banega as well. Every opponent will see that Argentina relies on Messi for breaking through defensive lines and crowd him out.

All in all, an average performance from Argentina but a disappointing result for sure.

Crowded out - Messi was stifled and restricted brilliantly by Iceland's midfielders

#19 Iran

Carlos Queiroz's team earned a dramatic last-minute own goal victory against Morocco in their first game in the World Cup. It was a 'smash and grab' victory for Team Melli and gives them a huge boost ahead of their next two difficult fixtures. This was the first victory for an Asian side in the World Cup since Japan beat Denmark in 2010.

Iran started shakily and struggled to assert themselves in the first twenty minutes. Carlos Queiroz typically set up a compact system with a counter-attacking threat. Sardar Azmoun almost executed this plan to perfection with his piercing run in the first half but was denied by an excellent save from the Moroccan keeper. Iran will be pleased with their suffocation of Morocco's attacking midfielders. It was a good dry run for Iran against three attacking midfielders who play more centrally ahead of their game against Spain. While the Spanish have higher quality players, Iran will have a similar plan against the Iberian side.

Iran will be slightly disappointed with the performance and their use of Alireza Jahanbakhsh. He made history this season by becoming the first Asian player to achieve the top scorer award in a European League(i.e the Dutch Eredivisie). He never really got the opportunity to showcase his goal-scoring ability. The Iranians will hope he comes good against tougher opponents like Spain and Portugal.

Team Melli secured a fortunate but historic victory in St.Petersburg