Iceland is the smallest nation to ever participate in a FIFA World Cup. Until just four years ago, their star goalkeeper was just a part-time footballer,  as his main profession was directing TV shows.

Hannes Halldorsson, the man who saved Lionel Messi’s penalty, has directed two TV series and numerous advertisements, including a commercial for Coca-Cola, that will air in Iceland throughout the World Cup.

Not only Messi, he also stopped Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring during the Euro Cup in 2016 as Portugal was held to a 1-1 draw. Both Messi and Ronaldo took 11 shots against him but couldn’t score from a single shot.

After his penalty save against Messi, he has become a national hero in Iceland but he almost quit football at the age of 20 after he was rejected by a local third-tier team.

It was then that Halldorsson also discovered his directing talent and started taking direction seriously. He even went on to direct Icelans’s Eurovision video in 2012.

In a recent interview, Halldorsson told The Guardian, “I was at a point where nobody knew me or that I could play football,” he adds, “Only I believed I could do it and the only thing I could do was take matters into my own hand.”

Halldorsson never received any professional goalkeeping training as it was common in Iceland during that time. There was never any emphasis on teaching the goalkeeper what to do.

Halldorsson then literally took the matter into his own hands as he would go to the training ground, kick the ball on the wall and then try to catch it.

The defining moment in his career came when he was voted the best player in Iceland’s premier division in 2011. With some luck, he got his first national call-up in 2012 for a Euro qualifier against Cyprus where he kept a clean sheet.

He quit his job as a director only in 2014 to become a professional football player. Apart from Iceland, he plays for Danish club Randers FC.

After Iceland qualified for Euro 2016, he became the first and the only Iceland goalkeeper to represent his nation at a major tournament. He had a decent Euro 2016 where he helped Iceland reach the quarter-final.

He again performed exceptionally during the world cup qualifiers as Iceland only conceded five goals in nine matches. He is a leader at the back for Iceland as he can be seen marshalling the defenders and cheering them on after every tackle.

With their exceptional performance against Argentina, Iceland has well and truly arrived at the World Cup. Hannes Halldorsson has now stopped both Messi and Ronaldo and other top players will now be on his radar.