2018 FIFA World Cup Group D Facts for Kids

The Group D of the 2018 FIFA World Cup was an exciting part of the 2018 World Cup football tournament. It took place from June 16 to June 26, 2018. This group included four strong teams: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, and Nigeria. The main goal for these teams was to finish in the top two spots in the group. If they did, they would move on to the next round, called the "round of 16," where the competition gets even tougher!

Teams in Group D
Group D Standings
Matches Played in Group D
Images for kids
See also

Teams in Group D

Here are the teams that played in Group D and some interesting facts about them:

Team	Confederation	Finals appearance	Previous best performance
Argentina	South America (CONMEBOL)	17th	Winners (1978, 1986)
Iceland	Europe (UEFA)	1st	–
Croatia	Europe (UEFA)	5th	Third place (1998)
Nigeria	Africa (CAF)	6th	Round of 16 (1994, 1998, 2014)

Notes

A "Confederation" is a group of national football associations from a specific continent or region.
"Finals appearance" means how many times a team has played in the main World Cup tournament.
"Previous best performance" shows the best result the team had in any past World Cup.

Group D Standings

The standings show how many points each team earned and their position in the group. The top two teams moved on to the next stage of the tournament.

In the round of 16:

The team that won Group D played against the team that came second in Group C.
The team that came second in Group D played against the team that won Group C.

Matches Played in Group D

All times listed are local time in Russia.

Argentina vs Iceland

This was the first time these two teams ever played against each other. It was a very exciting match!

16 June 2018 (2018-06-16) 16:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Argentina	1–1	Iceland	Otkritie Arena, Moscow Attendance: 44,190 Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
	Agüero 19'	Report	Finnbogason 23'

A diagram showing the player positions during the Argentina vs Iceland match.

Man of the Match: Hannes Þór Halldórsson (Iceland)

Croatia vs Nigeria

This match was important for both teams to start strong in the group.

16 June 2018 (2018-06-16) 21:00 KALT (UTC+2)	Croatia	2–0	Nigeria	Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad Attendance: 31,136 Referee: Sandro Ricci (Brazil)
	Etebo 32' (o.g.) Modrić 71' (pen.)	Report

A diagram showing the player positions during the Croatia vs Nigeria match.

Man of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)

Argentina vs Croatia

This was a big game for Argentina, but Croatia showed their strength.

21 June 2018 (2018-06-21) 21:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Argentina	0–3	Croatia	Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod Attendance: 43,319 Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)
		Report	Rebić 53' Modrić 80' Rakitić 90+1'

A diagram showing the player positions during the Argentina vs Croatia match.

Man of the Match: Luka Modrić (Croatia)

Nigeria vs Iceland

Nigeria needed a win to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

22 June 2018 (2018-06-22) 18:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Nigeria	2–0	Iceland	Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Attendance: 40,904 Referee: Matthew Conger (New Zealand)
	Musa 49', 75'	Report

A diagram showing the player positions during the Nigeria vs Iceland match.

Man of the Match: Ahmed Musa (Nigeria)

Nigeria vs Argentina

This was a crucial match for both teams, deciding who would go to the next round.

26 June 2018 (2018-06-26) 21:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Nigeria	1–2	Argentina	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Attendance: 64,468 Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)
	Moses 51' (pen.)	Report	Messi 14' Rojo 86'

A diagram showing the player positions during the Nigeria vs Argentina match.

Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Iceland vs Croatia

This match happened at the same time as Nigeria vs Argentina, and it also helped decide who would move on.

26 June 2018 (2018-06-26) 21:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Iceland	1–2	Croatia	Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Attendance: 43,472 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
	G. Sigurðsson 76' (pen.)	Report	Badelj 53' Perišić 90'