​Was Lionel Messi offside? Viral images miss key point about Argentina’s winning goal vs. England originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.A screenshot is circulating social media in which it appears, at a quick glance, that Argentina legend Lionel Messi is offside.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s an important moment, because this pass to Messi set up his right-footed cross to Lautaro Martinez’s headed goal that stunned England, 2-1, in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal in Atlanta.Offside is one of those rules that, especially to novice fans of the sport, can remain confusing.If Messi is beyond the last defender when the pass is played to him, then the goal should’ve been called off — that’s how the rule works.Messi wasn’t actually in an offside position, though.MORE: Lionel Messi’s right foot makes its own magic in Argentina stunnerOn the viral image going around, no, Messi was not offside.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe image looks like this:MORE: So many late goals in the World Cup for ArgentinaThe problem, though, is the angle.That camera angle is not directly down the line of the defense, which is the view the assistant referee has. That means it can’t actually paint a full picture of whether a player is offside or not.This image shared in the replies to that post shows how it really looked:In the original image, you can also look at the cut of the grass to get an idea of where everyone is aligned.If Messi had been offside, the video assistant referee would’ve reviewed it. But he wasn’t, and so the goal sent Argentina to the World Cup Final while breaking England’s hearts.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementErling Haaland brought a wild $750 gift home from the World CupAn on-brand finish to Neymar’s Brazil careerChristian Pulisic gives a terrible answer after World Cup-ending lossJerry Jones booed during World Cup match in DallasActor who played Dani Rojas in Ted Lasso makes pro soccer debut