England's Jordan Pickford may well have left Lionel Messi and several other Argentina stars impressed with his homework for their World Cup semi-final12:38, 16 Jul 2026Football fans have suggested Lionel Messi and Argentina stars appeared impressed at the accuracy of their penalty-taking assessments on Jordan Pickford's water bottle. Following their 2-1 comeback win over England, several Argentina players, including Messi, were captured on camera deep in conversation huddled around looking at the goalkeeper's water bottle.‌A close-up image of the bottle later emerged, showing it titled with 'Argentina penalty taker list', which made it clear it was Pickford's that had been left on the pitch. Messi, as their first penalty-taker, was at the very top and next to his name it read, 'fake left - dive right'.‌The Argentina captain, Nico Gonzalez, Marcos Senesi and a member of staff were the first Argentina players to take notice with the former seemingly double-taking at the directions next to his name. Senesi appeared to explain exactly what it meant with Messi appearing to nod in agreement.‌Argentina goalscorer Enzo Fernandez was also presented with the water bottle and looked to point straight at his name before letting out a relieved smile.He also pointed up to the skies as if he was thankful the clash did not go to penalties.‌The Chelsea star may have fancied his chances against Pickford had spot-kicks been required having beaten him from distance in normal time.That superb strike cancelled out Anthony Gordon's opener before substitute Lautaro Martinez grabbed the winner.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌Pickford has come under fire for failing to save Fernandez's effort with Jamie Carragher, Gary Neville and even Jude Bellingham all sharing similar thoughts.Upon watching a replay on the big screen, the latter appeared to angrily exclaim: "It's the middle of the goal!" In his column for The Telegraph, Carragher wrote: "Pickford should still have saved Enzo Fernández’s shot."Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!‌Gary Neville was also critical of the Everton shot-stopper on the Stick to Football World Cup Watch Party. He said: "Not gone in the corner, that. He's got to save that, got to save it. He's past it."Thomas Tuchel has also been slammed for his defensive changes with a significant amount of the second half still to play. Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly were the defenders introduced, with John Stones, Gordon and Declan Rice among those that went off.Despite their elimination, England will not depart the United States until after the weekend as they face France in a third-place play-off on Saturday.Article continues belowJoin our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Content cannot be displayed without consent