Key Takeaways
- After Argentina’s 2–1 World Cup semifinal win over England, Lionel Messi and his teammates passed around a water bottle, believed to be from Jordan Pickford, and read a detailed penalty cheat sheet taped to its side.
- The notes told Pickford how to face 19 Argentina players — including instructions, like “FAKE LEFT - DIVE RIGHT” for Messi and “STAND CENTRAL” for Enzo Fernandez, who reacted by raising his eyebrows and pointing to the sky.
- Because Lautaro Martinez scored a winner in extra time, the scouting guide was never used, but it could help Spain’s goalkeepers prepare for Argentina in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final.
Did England’s coaching staff have Argentina all figured on the penalty kick?
Following Argentina’s comeback win over England on Wednesday, cameras caught a few players, including Lionel Messi and Nico Gonzalez, closely inspecting a water bottle, presumably left behind by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
A cheat sheet with precise instructions on what to do when nearly every Argentina player takes a penalty kick was taped to the side of the bottle.
Messi seemed impressed that the sheet directed Pickford to “fake left” and “dive right.”
The bottle was later shown to Enzo Fernandez, who appeared to be grateful to know that he needs to change his approach.
After Anthony Gordon scored a goal in the 55th minute to give England a 1-0 lead, Argentina seemingly flipped a switch, consistently threatening to tie it up. Argentina finally got their equalizer when Enzo Fernández delivered a strike from outside the box that whizzed by Pickford’s outstretched arms.
Argentina continued to ride their second half momentum, and took the lead in the 92nd minute on a header from Lautaro Martínez, off the pass by Messi.
According to ESPN, England had only 12 percent of the possession following Gordon’s goal.
Now that England’s cheat sheet has gone public, it’s unlikely that Spain will be able to utilize those instructions when they face Argentina in the FIFA World Cup Final on Sunday.
