Jordan Pickford, 32, prepared as if the semifinal were going to be decided by penalties. He wrote on a water bottle the data on every potential Argentine taker: where Messi shoots, what Montiel does under pressure. The goalkeeper had the assignment ready, done with the dedication of someone who does not want to leave anything to chance.
The problem was that Argentina gave him no time. Enzo Fernández equalized in the 85th minute with a shot Pickford could not even touch, and Lautaro Martínez sealed the 2-1 with a header in stoppage time, after a cross from Messi himself. Penalties, zero.
The bottle ended up in the hands of Marcelo ‘Daddy’ D’Andrea, physiotherapist for Scaloni’s coaching staff, and from there it went straight into the hands of Messi, Nico González and Enzo.
The laughter was captured on video: they went over each note like someone finding a classmate’s homework who studied for an exam that was never given. Argentina are already thinking about the final against Spain. Pickford, about keeping his bottles better hidden. 😂🇦🇷
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