Jordan Pickford prepared detailed notes on how to save penalties from Argentina’s players ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, but the goalkeeper never got to use them after his side lost 2-1 in normal time.
The notes, taped to Pickford’s water bottle, were discovered by Argentina’s players, including Lionel Messi, as they celebrated their comeback win on Wednesday night.
England had led through Anthony Gordon before Enzo Fernandez levelled for Argentina, who then scored twice late on to book their place in Sunday’s final against Spain, avoiding a shootout altogether.
According to a report by Talk Sport, Pickford’s cheat sheet carried the name of every Argentina player alongside specific instructions on how he planned to react if they stepped up to take a penalty.
Some instructions called for the goalkeeper to fake a dive or delay his movement, while others were shorter.
For attacking midfielder Thiago Almada, Pickford had simply written that he would go by feel on the day.
For Messi, who had already missed from the spot earlier in the tournament, Pickford’s notes reportedly instructed him to dive one way after initially shaping to go the other, banking on the Argentina captain switching up his usual pattern.
Tottenham defender Marcos Senesi was seen demonstrating the instruction to a puzzled Messi, since the notes were written in English, Talk Sport reports.
For Fernandez, whose long-range strike had cancelled out England’s opener, Pickford had simply noted that he expected the midfielder to place his shot down the middle.
Fernandez reportedly reacted with visible relief on realising his usual routine had been read correctly, pointing skyward after seeing the note.
Talk Sport reported that the image of Pickford’s bottle was shared on Instagram by Argentina fitness coach Luis Martin, though PUNCH Online could not independently locate the post on Martin’s account.
Football transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano also shared the image on his page, and it has since circulated widely on social media.
Goalkeepers routinely study penalty takers before major knockout matches, weighing past penalties, preferred shooting sides, body shape before a strike and whether a player tends to change habits under pressure
Pickford still made a string of saves during the semi-final, but his shootout preparation never came into play once Argentina completed their turnaround.
AS USA reports that the leaked notes could prove useful heading into the final.
With Argentina’s routines now public, Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon may not need to start from scratch, and Fernandez in particular could be forced to rethink placing his penalties down the middle.
A shootout would not be unfamiliar territory for Argentina, who beat France on penalties to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
