Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland, who were making their first ever World Cup appearance, in teams' first match at 2018 FIFA World Cup at Moscow's Spartak Stadium on Saturday, with Argentina captain Lionel Messi failing to convert a penalty.

"The missed penalty is just a matter of statistics. We need to take it easy, show... passion as we did before, and remember that we have everything we need to move on successfully. It's difficult for me now to assess Messi's performance. Iceland played defensive football, they blocked almost all the free zones," Sampaoli told journalists.

He added that the team would analyze the actions of every player.

"We should have been more creative in the first half... We should have used left-wing players more actively. [We should have] attacked more," Sampaoli said.

According to the head coach, Group D, where they have been drawn alongside Iceland, Nigeria and Croatia, was "difficult".

"Now we just need to think carefully about how we can... challenge the next rivals. We need to see what strategy will be more convenient, our group is difficult," Sampaoli said.