In the end, Lionel Messi was … inevitable.
At least that might have been what ESPN was going for with its social media graphic that was tweeted out following Messi and Argentina’s electrifying win over France in Sunday’s World Cup final. Argentina defeated the defending champions in penalty kicks (4–2), a feat ESPN commemorated with this somewhat confusing Avengers-themed post.
Beyond ESPN and Marvel both being Disney properties, the link between the most feared villain in the comic book universe and one of soccer’s most beloved superstars was a bit confounding for people to process minutes after Messi’s most meaningful victory.
While Thanos is most famous for snapping half of all life into oblivion, Messi’s Sunday was a victorious one. And the moment the tweet appears to be referring to—the final shot of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War in which Thanos basks in victory after his infamous snap—would (spoiler alert) end up being undone by the events of Avengers: Endgame. It does not appear that there’s any time travel hijinks that France could conjure up to reverse the events of Sunday’s instant classic.
However tenuous the link between Messi and Thanos is, the post raised some eyebrows on social media in the aftermath of the game. Here are some of the best of the bunch.
