Following their 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, US, Lionel Messi and his teammates garnered widespread attention by lingering on the field to inspect goalkeeper Jordan Pickford's water bottle.

The video of the incident quickly went viral across social media platforms. Pickford's water bottle featured notes detailing each Argentina player's habits and preferred penalty-taking direction. The England coaching staff prepared this information for a potential penalty shootout scenario, a common practice among many goalkeepers before significant matches.

Messi reading notes from Jordan Pickford's water bottle. *Photo: NDTV*

The video showed midfielder Nico Gonzalez holding the bottle for Messi to read the instructions. One note advised Pickford to kick the ball to the left and dive to the right when facing opponent shots.

However, this strategy remained unused as Argentina secured their victory in regular time. England initially took the lead in the 55th minute through Anthony Gordon. In the 85th minute, Messi executed a short corner kick, received the ball back, and then passed to Enzo Fernandez in the center, approximately 23 m from the goal. The Argentina midfielder curled a shot past Pickford, equalizing before his team completed a 2-1 comeback win.

After the match, England captain Harry Kane praised Messi's performance. "Leo is still playing at the highest level," Kane stated.

Argentina is scheduled to face Spain in the final on Sunday. A victory would make the South American team the first to successfully defend the World Cup title since Brazil achieved the feat in 1958 and 1962.

Ngoc Ngan (According to AP, NDTV)