Read 6 minutes18 Jul 2026 07:46 AM IST
First Published: 18 Jul 2026 at 07:46 am IST
A cold stare, pursed lips and a gentle nod of the head. That’s what Messi did to England star Jude Bellingham for a foul in stoppage time in the dying moments of the first half. Those who knew, knew – these were the early signs that the storm was about to hit the football field. This time it was in Atlanta, and it would take until almost the end of the night for that storm to break through.
England were not defeated by Bellingham’s elimination of Messi, but he was guilty of misjudging the depth of the still and calm waters into which he had blindly waded.
Bellingham is 23 years old but his captain Harry Kane has been playing for a long time. He is good at reading the faces of the game and his opponents and the faces of the greats of the game. And he played the game hard, trying his best to tackle Messi but never got personal.
Anthony Gordon gave England a 1-0 lead early in the second half and the lead remained on the half hour mark. But Messi’s anger did not subside. He boiled over, and when Argentina finally broke, he broke twice. His two assists – for Enzo Fernandez’s 86th-minute equalizer and Lautaro Martinez’s stoppage-time winner – beat England’s famous lead 2-1 and put Argentina through to the World Cup final. In the magical world that Messi lives in, he can win a game without scoring a goal and deliver a very strong message without uttering a single word.
Marcelo: “Messi is a player you want to play against, but don’t provoke him.”
Jude Bellingham didn’t get the memo. pic.twitter.com/u6JomHZYTH
— Sara 🇵🇸 (@SaraFCBi) 15 July 2026
This is not the reaction of a seasoned player who gradually loses patience when faced with the bravado and bravado of the youngsters he faces on the field. Messi has always been like that.
As a 14-year-old, as a wunderkid at Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Messi played a game against Espanyol. To this day he remembers a brutal tackle by a defender who couldn’t keep up with him – but not his name. In most of the games, the younger Messi would walk away from him, making him look normal. The Espanyol player’s frustration will get the better of him and he will attack Messi.
The Barcelona prodigy will be sidelined with a serious cheekbone injury. There are no videos or reports suggesting that Messi shook his head lightly with a blank stare that day. But the rest of the story proves that the other day against England, Messi is triggered when faced, rough or taken lightly.
Bellingham, left, and Messi collide during the World Cup semi-final match between England and Argentina in Atlanta. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Messi was taken off the field that day and doctors told him he would be out for 15 days. But with Barcelona playing Espanyol next week, the vengeful boy on his mind didn’t want to sit out. A persistent Messi will convince the coach to keep him in the team. “I’ll play with a face mask.” – was his argument. The game would attain legendary status in the following years. In the making of Messi’s story, it will be called El Partido de la Mascara (The Mask Game).
In a frenzy to get back at the defender who had taken him down in the previous game, Messi would tear off the mask and throw it away. The coach would replace him at half-time but not before building his reputation as a goal-scorer and not speaking in the same aggressive tone as Bellingham in the World Cup semi-final. That day, in just 45 minutes on the field, Messi scored two goals and assisted another. The team won 4-1.
Over the next few years, Messi, who always had a calm face on his face, would tear off that mask after a few days. He was a rookie among the stars and seniors when he was first selected for Argentina. Each had a reputation and an ego to match. Among the seniors was legendary defender Gabriel Heinze, a seasoned player with experience playing for most of Europe’s top clubs. During training Messi once beat him nutmeg, skillfully played the ball at his feet and he looked like a fan. Heinz didn’t like it, he started going hard on the young Messi.
In 2003, 15-year-old Messi suffered a facial injury and was told by medical staff to rest for at least three weeks. But Messi wanted to play the next game against Espanyol at any cost and asked his coach to get Carles Puyol’s face mask. pic.twitter.com/0nw97oaJTv
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) 10 September 2018
An article on Messi in The Times has an interesting line on this incident. “Team members remember that Messi didn’t say anything, didn’t complain, he gave Heinze a warning look as if to say: “Don’t do that again.” Go back to the semi-final with Bellingham and try to read the look on Messi’s face. It clearly says: “Now, you’ve got it.”
There is a famous book called Messi vs Ronaldo, which describes the contrast between the two all time greats. How Ronaldo was protected at Manchester United and Messi was not at Barcelona. Sir Alex Ferguson wrapped him in cotton wool, telling the rest of the team to be careful when dealing with him, there was no such concern at the Camp Nou. “Anyone foolish enough to come in hard on Messi immediately became the focus of his vengeance. He would unleash his tricks with the sole aim of embarrassing that person.”
After his angry exchange with Bellingham, Messi embarrassed the English team.
There is an iconic line in the old western classic The Good, The Bad The Ugly starring Clint Eastwood that professional athletes must write down and recite before a game. Tuco (Ugly), played by Eli Wallach, tells the bounty hunter, “When you gotta shoot, don’t shoot. Don’t talk”, a credo Good Bellingham does well to live by.