Hannes Halldorsson was already an Icelandic hero, but he’s on the path to legend status following another star turn on Saturday.
Iceland’s goalkeeper was credited with six saves, one a penalty kick denial on Lionel Messi, as the Strákarnir okkar picked up a point in their first ever World Cup match.
[ RECAP: Argentina 1-1 Iceland ]
Here’s how the Randers goalkeeper described the penalty, and the day. From the BBC:
“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.
“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.”
“Dream come true” is an often overused phrase, but think about it: How many goalkeepers have actually dreamed of staring down Messi at the penalty spot? Probably tens of thousands.