Iceland’s penalty saving hero Hannes Halldorsson says his homework paid off.

The keeper, who kept out mega star Lionel Messi from the penalty spot, earned a fantastic point in his country’s first ever World Cup match.

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Argentina couldn’t get past him in the second half and his brilliance on his line secured a fantastic 1-1 draw for the competition’s smallest nation.

Haldorsson revealed hours spent looking closely at the Barcelona man’s technique helped him guess right.

“I did some homework,” he said after. “It was a situation I knew could come up.

“It was is a long shot, but it happened. I looked at a lot of penalties from Messi and wanted to get into his mind and what he would think about me.

“I had a good feeling he would go that way today,” added the part-time director.

“We were playing against one of the best teams in the world, against the best players in the world, in our first World Cup.”