Lionel Messi’s Argentina have just completed a World Cup comeback for the ages.
Two goals down against Egypt with barely 10 minutes of normal time remaining, it looked as though the reigning world champions were going home. For Messi, it may also have meant ending his international career on the most crushing of defeats.
But Cristian Romero’s stooped header, Messi’s half volley and another, laser-guided header from Enzo Fernandez saw Argentina snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and set up a quarter-final date with Colombia or Switzerland on Saturday.
For FIFA, who have given in to their most exploitative commercial urges for this World Cup, the turnaround – which came after Messi missed a penalty in the first half – is a major relief.
And the data shows just how much the continued presence of Messi and his teammates in the United States has protected the top line of world soccer’s governing body.
Quarter-final tickets crash and spike during Argentina’s 3-2 win
The stats from Ticket Data tell their own story about a remarkable night in Atlanta, Georgia.
The chart detailing the get-in price (cheapest available tickets) almost directly corresponds with the momentum of the game.
When Argentina went 2-0 down on 79 minutes, the get-in price crashed from a high of $1,933 earlier in the day to a low of $953.
After Argentina’s first, second and third goals, the price had doubled. At the time of writing, minutes after the referee blew for full time, the cheapest available tickets are $1,946.
It is a remarkable bust-and-boom, one that will have saved FIFA millions.
FIFA is operating its own resale platform for this tournament, taking a 30 per cent cut of every ticket sold through it.
With the most expensive tickets far, far pricier, it does not take long before a 30 per cent cut on tickets sold through the platform for Argentina’s route to the final translates into a seven-figure return for FIFA.
In total, Gianni Infantino’s finance department is projecting ticketing revenue of $3bn throughout the tournament, treble what the organisation earned in Qatar in 2022.
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