Messi's 'De Niro nod' at Jude Bellingham during World Cup becomes instant meme

Argentina may be one game away from winning a second consecutive World Cup, but the internet isn't quite ready to move on from their game against England, which has produced arguably one of the best memes of the tournament.

The meme in question? Lionel Messi nodding in a manner that's somewhere between a Robert De Niro character in a mob movie, and someone being massively humbled.

However, it's probably a welcome break from criticism for Argentina, who have proven controversial throughout the tournament, including players holding up a banner after the same game that read "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" - translating as "The Falklands are Argentine".

But the moment happened during the first half of the game when the top goalscorer of the tournament (tied with Mbappé) exchanged tense words with England's Jude Bellingham over an uncalled foul.

As Messi walked away, he raised his eyebrows, poked his bottom lip out, and nodded in contemplation, birthing the perfect new reaction meme for social media to use.

"When you give way to someone at a junction and they don’t give you a thank you wave", one person posted.

"My cat when he sees his food bowl is still empty 32 seconds after his normal breakfast time", another wrote.

"My dentist after my gums start bleeding after I told them I’ve been flossing consistently", a third added.

"just washed my car

"pigeons:", someone else joked.

Argentina will face off against Spain on Sunday (19 July) for the World Cup title, while England will take on France on Saturday (18 July) for third place.

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