In the aftermath of Egypt’s dramatic World Cup penalty shoot-out victory over Australia on Friday, supporters wasted no time in turning their attention to the team’s next opponent, Argentina, and its captain, Lionel Messi, ahead of Tuesday’s last-16 match.
News reports and social media footage have already shown the diminutive star becoming the subject of good-natured chants at Egyptian fan gatherings and circulating online. Some of these boasts and claims have been reused or subtly rephrased from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Among the phrases heard after Egypt qualified were “hatou Messi” or “bring on Messi”.
Egyptian sports website FilGoal also circulated footage featuring the phrase “Messi fi el-geib”, meaning “Messi is in the pocket”.
I first encountered this phrase days after Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1 in 2022, producing one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history and one of the finest results in Saudi football.
At Sharjah International Airport, Saudi supporters travelling to Doha approached a group of Argentine fans at the departure gates while pretending to search for a missing person.
“Excuse me,” said a young woman wearing a Saudi scarf. “We are just looking for Messi. Have you seen him?”
The joke had already spread on social media and had become a familiar greeting whenever Saudi supporters encountered rival fans. The response often came in variations of “he’s in my pocket”.
To have a player in your pocket means he has been contained so effectively that he has little influence on the match. The phrase is familiar to football fans across the region and has returned ahead of Egypt's match against Argentina.
The associated claim that “Fatouh will put Messi in his pocket” is also circulating online, a reference to the Egypt defender Ahmed Fatouh being tipped to shadow the playmaker during the match.
Another phrase resurfacing is “Messi weinu?”, meaning “Where is Messi?”
Saudi supporters paired the question with the rhyme “Kasarna einu”, or “We broke his eye”, after their victory over Argentina in 2022.
The Arabic expression is less severe than its literal English translation suggests. To “break someone’s eye” can mean to humble them, to damage their pride or to leave them embarrassed.
Egyptian fans have adapted the wording for a match still ahead. “Kasarna”, meaning “we broke”, has become “hanneksir”, meaning “we will break”.
Such bravado and friendly rivalry are part of what makes the World Cup special, although supporters will know how quickly a taunt can become an own goal.
After all, even Argentina recovered from its 2022 defeat to Saudi and went on to win the World Cup, with Messi named the tournament’s best player.
