{"id":50229,"date":"2026-07-16T05:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/watch-messis-priceless-reaction-to-finding-water-bottle-with-pickford-penalty-details-on-it\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:00:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:00:59","slug":"watch-messis-priceless-reaction-to-finding-water-bottle-with-pickford-penalty-details-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/watch-messis-priceless-reaction-to-finding-water-bottle-with-pickford-penalty-details-on-it\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Messi&#8217;s priceless reaction to finding water bottle with Pickford penalty details on it"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/watch-messis-priceless-reaction-to-finding-water-bottle-with-pickford-penalty-details-on-it\/#Messi_and_teammates_discover_Pickfords_penalty_note\" >Messi and teammates discover Pickford&#8217;s penalty note<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/07\/16\/watch-messis-priceless-reaction-to-finding-water-bottle-with-pickford-penalty-details-on-it\/#Bottle_strategy_shows_Englands_careful_preparation\" >Bottle strategy shows England&#8217;s careful preparation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Argentina&#8217;s dramatic victory over England in the World Cup semi-finals generated yet another fascinating story after the final whistle.<br \/><\/strong><br \/>Lionel Messi and several teammates were seen gathering around Jordan Pickford&#8217;s water bottle and studying the information attached to it as the defending champions celebrated a 2-1 win in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<div id=\"message-list_1779082922.637049\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" aria-labelledby=\"primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-sender primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-message_text primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-alt_text primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-date_time primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-reaction_count primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-reply_count primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-link_count primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-attachment_count primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-has_draft_reply primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-pinned_state primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-edited_state primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-later_state primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-broadcast_state primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-broadcast_thread_root_message primary-DPALHTQM9-1779082922.637049-translated_state\" style=\"clear:left;\">\n<div>\n<div aria-roledescription=\"message\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><b>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">apple<\/span><\/u><\/b><b>    &#038; <\/b><b><u><span draggable=\"true\">Google play<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The bottle reportedly contained research on England&#8217;s penalty shoot-outs, as well as notes on where Argentina&#8217;s potential penalty kickers usually take their spot kicks.<\/p>\n<p>Although the match did not reach a penalty shootout, the moment provided a glimpse of the meticulous preparation behind a major international match.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Messi_and_teammates_discover_Pickfords_penalty_note\"><\/span>Messi and teammates discover Pickford&#8217;s penalty note<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Messi and several Argentina players got a close look at the Pickford bottle during the post-match celebrations, according to footage shared on social media.<\/p>\n<p>The memo reportedly lists various Argentine players&#8217; preferred direction of penalties, giving England&#8217;s goalkeeper guidance on where to dive.<\/p>\n<p>The incident was also covered by the Times of India, which reported that footage of players inspecting England&#8217;s private penalty investigation quickly went viral online.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Argentina scored two goals late in the game to avoid a penalty shootout and came back 2-1 to advance to the final.<\/p>\n<p>There is no suggestion that the players accessed the information before or during the potential shootout.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, it seems to have been a casual discovery after a match where the outcome was already decided.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bottle_strategy_shows_Englands_careful_preparation\"><\/span>Bottle strategy shows England&#8217;s careful preparation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Pickford has regularly used canteen notes during major tournaments.<\/p>\n<p>Yahoo Sports previously revealed similar instructions came in handy during England&#8217;s Euro 2024 quarter-final win over Switzerland, with the bottles containing research on each of their opponents&#8217; players.<\/p>\n<p>The moment was funny, but it also showed how seriously England are preparing for any outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Studying penalties has become a normal part of elite football, and Pickford&#8217;s bottle was just a tool designed to give him a small advantage.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina may have enjoyed discovering England&#8217;s plans afterwards, but they rendered that information meaningless by winning before penalties were needed.<\/p>\n<p>After all, the best way to defeat a goalie&#8217;s carefully studied shootout strategy is to ensure that the game never boils down to one point.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Argentina could be fined by FIFA for their actions after England&#8217;s win<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Argentina&#8217;s dramatic victory over England in the World Cup semi-finals generated yet another fascinating story after the final whistle.Lionel Messi and several teammates were seen gathering around Jordan Pickford&#8217;s water bottle and studying the information attached to it as the defending champions celebrated a 2-1 win in Atlanta. Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-50229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}