I’m watching the World Cup today, and there’s a moment in the Argentina-Austria match. Argentina crosses the ball into the box. Thiago Almada is there, inside the box, with a clear chance to shoot on goal, but instead lets the ball pass through to Lionel Messi, who neatly finishes into the back of the net.
And as I’m watching, I’m wondering: How did Almada know that Messi was there?
It took a few replays for me to figure it out.
Just before he entered the box, Almada takes a split-second glance back and sees what’s around him. He’s there, in the image above, on the left. Messi is steps behind him. He doesn’t know yet that the ball is coming to him, but he knows that if it does, he has the choice to shoot or fake out the defender, leaving Messi wide open.
Watch #16 in the middle of the screen. It’s nothing more than a glance.
Some players would have taken the shot right away, not even realizing that their teammate was behind him. Almada, instead, made sure he was seeing the entire field — and by doing so, he set up a history-making goal.