Lionel Messi glanced up for barely a heartbeat.
It was stoppage time of the World Cup semi-final. Argentina had already rescued themselves once, and now sensed one last opportunity to avoid extra time. Inside England’s penalty area stood a wall of white shirts. One defender rushed out to close Messi down, another threw out a desperate leg to block the cross. Three more occupied the six-yard box, each standing exactly where a delivery ought to land. Jordan Pickford lurked behind them, waiting for anything overhit.
The passing lane didn’t exist. Or so it seemed.
Messi’s right foot clipped the ball into the night sky. It rose over the first challenge, skimmed above the heads of England’s defenders by inches, drifted beyond Pickford’s reach, left him in a dilemma whether to commit or leave, and, almost impossibly, dipped at precisely the moment Lautaro Martínez arrived at the far post. By the time the Argentina striker nodded home the winner, guiding the defending champions to a second successive final, the ball had travelled over almost the entire England defence before landing gently on his forehead.