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England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had meticulously prepared himself for a possible penalty shootout during the World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

However, England fell agonisingly short of taking the match into extra time, conceding two late goals that sealed their exit in the most heartbreaking fashion.

Questions are now being raised about manager Thomas Tuchel’s decision to instruct his players to drop deep and absorb continuous Argentine pressure in the closing stages.

After Enzo Fernandez equalised, England appeared content to hang on until full-time, perhaps hoping to reach a penalty shootout given the number of defenders they had on the field.

Had the Three Lions managed to hold out, they would have entered the shootout thoroughly prepared.

Pickford, who has a strong record in penalty shootouts for England at major tournaments, was evidently ready for another round of spot-kick heroics, until Lautaro Martinez connected with Lionel Messi’s precise cross in stoppage time to clinch victory for Argentina.

Following the full-time whistle, Argentine players reportedly noticed Pickford’s water bottle lying on the pitch—and a photo soon surfaced online revealing that it contained detailed notes about each of Argentina’s likely penalty takers.

Attached to the bottle was a printed guide instructing how and where to dive for each opponent’s penalty attempt.

Messi, who had already missed two penalties at this World Cup, was listed first with the instruction: “fake left - dive right.”

For Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, Pickford’s note read simply: “stand central.”

In most other cases, Pickford’s notes gave a specific direction to dive, but for Thiago Almada, the advice was less rigid: “feel on the day.”

Messi and a few of his teammates were later seen examining the bottle, possibly trying to gather insight ahead of their upcoming World Cup final clash against Spain on Sunday.

For England and Pickford, though, all that preparation ultimately went unused—unless fate brings them face-to-face with La Albiceleste again in a future knockout encounter four years from now.

MESSI

FAKE LEFT - DIVE RIGHT

MONTIEL

DIVE LEFT

PAREDES

STAND LEFT - DIVE RIGHT

MAC ALLISTER

DIVE RIGHT

FERNANDEZ

STAND CENTRAL

GONZALEZ

HOLD - REACT

ALVAREZ

DIVE LEFT

LAUTARO MARTINEZ

DIVE RIGHT

DE PAUL

STAND RIGHT - MOVE CENTRAL - DIVE LEFT

ALMADA

FEEL ON THE DAY

OTAMENDI

DISGUISE RIGHT - DIVE LEFT

LOPEZ

DIVE RIGHT - TRAIL LEG

PALACIOS

DIVE RIGHT - POSITIVE STEP - GO!

LO CELSO

FAKE RIGHT - DIVE LEFT

PAZ

DIVE LEFT

MEDINA

HOLD - DIVE LEFT

BARCO

HOLD - DIVE RIGHT

LISANDRO MARTINEZ

HOLD - DIVE LEFT

MOLINA

STAND RIGHT - DIVE RIGHT

TAGLIAFICO

DIVE LEFT

SIMEONE

DIVE RIGHT

SENESI

DIVE RIGHT

RULLI

DIVE LEFT