Was Lionel Messi offside? Viral images miss key point about Argentina's winning goal vs. England

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A screenshot is circulating social media in which it appears, at a quick glance, that Argentina legend Lionel Messi is offside.

It's an important moment, because this pass to Messi set up his right-footed cross to Lautaro Martinez's headed goal that stunned England, 2-1, in Wednesday's World Cup semifinal in Atlanta.

Offside is one of those rules that, especially to novice fans of the sport, can remain confusing.

If Messi is beyond the last defender when the pass is played to him, then the goal should've been called off -- that's how the rule works.

Messi wasn't actually in an offside position, though.

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Was Lionel Messi offside?

On the viral image going around, no, Messi was not offside.

The image looks like this:

Has anyone actually seen the image of the semi automated offside confirming this as onside??pic.twitter.com/L68aXPpBKD https://t.co/Q8pBpT87Va

— AB⚕ (@AbsoluteBruno) July 15, 2026

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The problem, though, is the angle.

That camera angle is not directly down the line of the defense, which is the view the assistant referee has. That means it can't actually paint a full picture of whether a player is offside or not.

This image shared in the replies to that post shows how it really looked:

Not even close. pic.twitter.com/4oqlg9AU9G

— Ole Martin Ek (@Iscooek) July 15, 2026

In the original image, you can also look at the cut of the grass to get an idea of where everyone is aligned.

If Messi had been offside, the video assistant referee would've reviewed it. But he wasn't, and so the goal sent Argentina to the World Cup Final while breaking England's hearts.