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Argentina’s players may have discovered a few secrets in their win over England that could be useful moving forward.
Following Argentina’s 2-1 victory in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates Nico Gonzalez and Enzo Fernández huddled around a bottle of water. They read the back as if it contained a secret recipe.
It might as well have been, as it appeared to show a strategy for how England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford would have approached each Argentina player if the match were to go to penalties.
For Messi, it read “Fake Left – Dive Right”. For defender Nahuel Montiel, it was written: “Dive to the left”. What would Pickford do if Leandro Paredes took his place? “Stand Left – Dive Right,” according to the water bottle.
Pickford would have been more valuable keeping his water bottle, and his secrets close to his chest, had the match gone to penalties. So don’t blame Argentina for being curious once Pickford left his trash behind. In fact, it might help them move forward.
While each goalkeeper certainly prepares differently for penalty shootouts – watching different film, gathering different information – they may think alike. The Argentine players have pondered this thought.
This information could help them prepare for a possible penalty shootout against Spain and goalkeeper Unai Simón. It could also have the opposite result: Argentina players would get in their heads and doubt their approach because the goalkeeper knows their tendencies.
Ultimately, penalty shootouts are a game of strategy and mentality. The manager chooses who can step up, and the penalty taker must have the confidence to pull through. This available information only adds to this intrigue, this suspense, because some players will evaluate its importance differently.
