Iceland failed in their attempt to reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time as Croatia secured a late win to top Group D on maximum points. The Nordic nation knew they had to win to stand any chance of reaching the last 16, and their colourful support looked dejected as their side missed key chances late in the first half.
Alfred Finnbogason and Birkir Bjarnason both went close before the interval in Rostov-on-Don but Milan Badelj stylishly slammed home for Croatia after the break. That forced Iceland to chase the game and, after Sverrir Ingason hit the bar, Gylfi Sigurdsson converted a penalty to level following Dejan Lovren’s handball. In the dying minutes, with Argentina leading Nigeria 2-1, Iceland knew a win would see them jump ahead of the South American side in second place.
But their attacks became less frequent as Croatia took more control and Ivan Perisic – one of only two players to retain his place from the win over Argentina – fired home in injury time.
His side now face Denmark in the last 16 on Sunday, a day after Argentina play France.