Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were left intrigued after discovering England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s penalty cheat sheet following their World Cup semi-final victory over England, revealing the Three Lions had prepared extensively for the possibility of a shootout. After Argentina sealed a 2-1 win in regulation time to book……
Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were left intrigued after discovering England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s penalty cheat sheet following their World Cup semi-final victory over England, revealing the Three Lions had prepared extensively for the possibility of a shootout.
After Argentina sealed a 2-1 win in regulation time to book their place in the World Cup final, players found Pickford’s water bottle, which contained detailed notes on Argentina’s likely penalty takers and suggested diving directions for the England goalkeeper in the event of a shootout.
According to a post by The Touchline on X, lip readers deciphered a conversation involving Messi, Nicolás González, Marcos Senesi and a member of Argentina’s backroom staff after the bottle was discovered.
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Holding up the bottle, González said: “Look what I found. It has notes on Lautaro, Julián…”
A staff member replied: “Yes, all the players are on there.”
A surprised Messi then asked: “What?! But what do the notes mean?”
The staff member turned to Senesi, asking him to interpret the English instructions.
After reading the notes, Senesi explained: “It says which way the goalkeeper should dive…”
Messi sought further clarification, asking: “Are you talking about the goalkeeper (Pickford)?”
When Senesi confirmed and revealed that the note beside Messi’s name read that he would fake to the left before shooting to the right, the Argentina captain smiled and responded: “The goalkeeper must have studied how I take my penalties then.”
England’s detailed preparations, however, were never put to the test.
Rather than allowing the match to drift into extra time and penalties, Argentina settled the contest inside 90 minutes, with Messi orchestrating the victory by providing both assists in the 2-1 triumph.
The reigning world champions will now face Spain in Sunday’s World Cup final, while Pickford’s meticulously prepared penalty guide ultimately remained unused.