The World Cup‘s incredibly dramatic quarterfinals fell well in line with the rest of the tournament and produced some truly shocking moments and results.
Things kicked off in grand fashion as fan-favorites Brazil were ceremoniously knocked out after Penalties against Croatia.
And as if that game wasn’t anxiety-ridden enough, Argentina against the Netherlands proved to be even more nerve-wracking.
Alongside a sea of Albicelestes in the stadium, the Argentines saw plenty of external support, all coming from buoyant fans wishing on a star for a fairytale ending to Lionel Messi‘s World Cup exploits.
Despite the palpable pressure, the burden of countless expectations and all the hurrying and hassling the Dutch offered, Messi delivered once again.
The 35-year-old ran the show, he set up the opener after a bit of ingenious play and also went on to grab Argentina’s second.
But being the sly old fox he is, Louis Van Gaal had a trick up his sleeve.
He ripped up the tactical sheets and subbed on the colossal duo of Luuk De Jong and Wout Weghorst, with the sole instruction being ‘lob it to the big fellas’.
And boy did it work.
Weghorst headed in the first before tapping in the leveller, evolving pure Oranje elation.
The ease on Argentine faces quickly dissipated, but only to return a while later.
Following two halves of uneventful extra time, the game went to Penalties, and heroes were called upon to step up. Emiliano Martinez donned his cape and saved two pens in quick succession, and in the end, Lautaro Martinez netted the decider.
Millions of fans across the world puffed out their cheeks and celebrated Argentina’s progression, and among those ranks were also a few notable celebrities.
The most unlikely celeb who expressed her joy following Argentina’s qualification was none other than Pop-music icon Adele herself.
The 15-time Grammy winner behind iconic tracks such as ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Someone like you’ is currently on her ‘Weekends with Adele’ tour.
And during a recent concert, she revealed her Messi fandom while also expressing her happiness over Argentina’s win.
As seen in this viral clip, it all came to light after a fan stepped onto the stage to grab a picture with the artist.
After learning that the fan hails from Argentina, Adele said
‘You’re from Argentina.. thank God you won on Penalties today’.
Following a brief interaction drizzled with her signature wit and charm, she said ‘Love you Messi mate, Love you Messi’.
The moment drew huge cheers from the crowd in attendance and has drawn similarly enthused reactions from fans online. The artist was previously known to be a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, and now we can add LM10 fangirl to the list.