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Argentina starts playing like world champions again

This meme uses an anime character whose expression shifts incrementally from relaxed to extremely intense, paired with the caption about Messi not needing to conserve energy at the end of a match. It jokes about the widely observed pattern of Lionel Messi holding back and saving his energy during most of a football match, before ramping up to his full, extremely high skill level for powerful late-game plays, referencing the Argentina national football team's dominant performance as reigning world champions.
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Messi when the match is almost over and he doesn't need to save energy anymore:

Overview

This meme uses an anime character whose expression shifts incrementally from relaxed to extremely intense, paired with the caption about Messi not needing to conserve energy at the end of a match. It jokes about the widely observed pattern of Lionel Messi holding back and saving his energy during most of a football match, before ramping up to his full, extremely high skill level for powerful late-game plays, referencing the Argentina national football team's dominant performance as reigning world champions.

Origin notes

This meme originates from the r/Meme subreddit on Reddit, distributed via RSS under the title 'Argentina starts playing like world champions again'. It repurposes a popular viral edited anime clip of a shifting expression character to make a lighthearted joke about the Argentina men's football team's consistent high level of play after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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