2026 World Cup: Pickford’s Water Bottle Goes Viral; Messi and Teammates Laugh It Off

At the end of a thrilling semifinal, amid the celebrations of the Argentine players and fans, a curious incident quickly went viral on social media. The protagonist was Marcelo D’Andrea, the long-time team masseur for the Selección, known in his home country by the nickname “Daddy.” While the players were celebrating their victory on the field, D’Andrea noticed a water bottle left behind by Jordan Pickford next to England’s goal. However, it wasn’t just a simple water bottle.

In fact, the back of the bottle was covered with numerous notes prepared by the English staff in anticipation of a possible penalty shootout. The notes contained detailed information on the habits of potential Argentine penalty takers: where they usually aimed, how they might move, and what strategy Pickford should adopt to try to stop them. D’Andrea picked up the water bottle and showed it to the Albiceleste players, creating a scene captured by TyC Sports cameras that quickly went viral.

The first to flip through the notes was Nico González, followed by Lionel Messi, who was intrigued by the contents. “What is this? What does it say?” the Argentine captain reportedly asked, while Marcos Senesi and Enzo Fernández, drawing on their Premier League experience, began translating the instructions written in English.

Among the notes were instructions specifically for Messi. According to what his teammates read aloud, Pickford was supposed to feign a dive to the left before shifting to the right in an attempt to anticipate the Argentine star’s shot. Messi smiled amusedly, commenting wryly that the English goalkeeper had carefully studied all the possible penalty takers.

Enzo Fernández also couldn’t hold back his laughter upon reading the instructions meant for him, which suggested that Pickford should stay still in the center of the goal if he took a penalty kick. The incident was later shared by Argentine strength and conditioning coach Luis Martin, who posted a photo of the water bottle on social media with a tongue-in-cheek message directed at the English goalkeeper: “Too bad, we didn’t have the same plans, buddy.”