What was noted? Argentina's ploy to check Pickford's bottle | OneFootball

The agonizing 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 World Cup semifinal left one of the most curious and viral images of the match on social media. Cameras captured the exact moment when several Argentina National Team players quietly approached to inspect British goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s water bottle ahead of a possible penalty shootout.

The English goalkeeper is world-famous for sticking cheat sheets and reminder notes on his bottles showing the sides opposing takers usually choose when shooting from the penalty spot. Aware of this strategic detail and with the match tied in the final minutes, the Scaloneta players decided to get ahead of the play and examine the bottle to decipher the information Pickford was jealously guarding.

Fortunately for the reigning world champions, a miraculous header by Lautaro Martínez in the 47th minute of the second half sealed direct qualification without the need to go to a penalty shootout. In any case, the Argentine players’ quick thinking showed that the squad paid attention to absolutely every detail to secure its place in Sunday’s grand final against Spain.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.