[Archive 2018-06-18] FIFA World Cup 2018 day three: France, Denmark and Croatia wins three points; Argentina shares the spoils with debutants Iceland

Historical archive — originally published 2018-06-18. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

On Saturday, day three of the 2018 FIFA football World Cup, France defeated Australia 2–1, Argentina drew 1–1 against World Cup debuts Iceland, Denmark defeated Peru 1–0, and Croatia defeated Nigeria 2–0.

In the first match of the day, the French side took on Australia at the Kazan Stadium. France dominated in ball possession. In the 33rd minute, Frenchman Lucas Hernández missed a chance from Ousmane Dembélé's assist. With both the sides having multiple attempts for scoring, the first half remained goalless.

In the second half, Australia's Josh Risdon fouled on [[Anotine Griezmann}]] in the penalty area. After confirming with the video assistant referee, a penalty kick was awarded to France. Griezmann scored from the spot kick, putting France in the lead. However, the lead was short-lived, as Australia won a penalty kick about two minutes later due to Samuel Umtiti's hand ball in the penalty area. Mile Jedinak converted the spot kick into a goal, leveling it up for the Aussies. Around the 80th minute, Aziz Behich scored an own goal, which was confirmed by the goal line technology. Behich's own goal proved to be the winning goal for the French side, winning three points.

Argentina took on Iceland at the Spartak Stadium in the first Group D match of the tournament. Argentina dominated in ball possession. World Cup debutants Iceland got an early chance to open the scoring, in the 11th minute, but the shot went wide. Argentina had multiple attempts for goal before [[Sergio Agüero}}]] scored the opening goal for Argentina in the 19th minute, surrounded by several Icelandic players. However, Argentina's lead did not last long. In the 23rd minute, Alfred Finnbogason scored an equaliser, first World Cup goal for Iceland. In the remainder of the first half, Argentineans attempted multiple shots and winning five corner kicks but could not convert any into goals. The first half ended with 1–1 on the score board.

In the second half, Iceland conceded a penalty in the 63rd minute. Maximiliano Meza was fouled in the penalty area, but Argentine captain Lionel Messi's penalty kick was saved by Hannes Þór Halldórsson. Iceland were able to keep the scoreline 1–1 as both the sides shared the spoils, winning one point from the draw.

In the second Group C match of the night, both Peru and Denmark had potential chances of scoring goals early in the first half but none were converted into a goal. Peru won a penalty kick in the 44th minute, conceded by Yussuf Poulsen which was confirmed by the video assistant referee. But Peru's Christian Cueva missed from the spot kick as the ball went over the cross bar. The first half ended with a 0–0 score.

Just before the one hour mark, Christian Eriksen assisted Yussuf Poulsen, who scored the only goal of the match as the Danish side led the game 1–0.

In the last match of the night, Croatia faced Nigeria at the Kaliningrad Stadium. Croatia had greater ball possession. They had multiple attacks in the first 30 minutes, and broke through in the 32nd minute. Oghenekaro Etebo ended up scoring an own goal after Croatia had won a corner kick. In the second half, Croatia was awarded a penalty kick when Mario Mandžukić was brought down in the penalty area. The referee pointed for the penalty kick and Luka Modrić scored the penalty, giving the Croats a 2–0 advantage over the African side.

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