Poet Park No-hae's ode to Messi resurfaces ahead of World Cup semifinal

South Korean poet Park No-hae has resurfaced one of his own poems — "Messi Is Eternal" — ahead of Argentina's 2026 North and Central America World Cup semifinal against England.

Park posted the poem on his SNS account Tuesday. The piece appears in his poetry collection "Look at Your Sky."

The poem opens: "Messi is eternal. I am Messi's eternal fan. I intend to end with Messi. Those who nitpick about Messi are either tangled up in some vested interest or simply people who don't understand football."

It continues with praise: "If the greatest footballers until now were brilliant bestselling authors, Messi is the poet of the pitch. 'Always composed,' surveying the whole field as if strolling through it, with the ultimate technique — simple and beautiful — he writes a deadly poem in just a single line."

The poem also reads: "Amid all the criticism and ridicule, Messi stays silent. And he silences them with nothing but the game. Even in a match that refuses to go right for 90 minutes, when everyone has given up hope, Messi, in one moment, finishes it — brief as a poem, in a flash."

The poem closes with the insight "No player is greater than the team — except Messi," followed by: "Poetry is eternal. Messi is eternal. I am Messi's eternal fan."

Nanum Culture, a nonprofit Park founded, also shared the poem through its weekly "Poet Park No-hae's Breathing Space" column, published every Tuesday on the group's website.

"Look at Your Sky" was published in 2022, when Park was 65 — his first collection in 12 years. Among its 301 poems, this piece marked his public declaration of fandom for Argentina football legend Messi.

Readers responded warmly. "The fact that Teacher Park No-hae wrote a tribute poem — it's genuinely precious," one commenter wrote. Others said "Messi would be moved" and "Messi was a god and a poet."

Argentina advanced to the semifinals after their 2026 World Cup quarterfinal against Switzerland on Sunday. The match, played at Kansas City Stadium in the United States, ended 1-1 after 90 minutes before Argentina scored twice in the second half of extra time to seal a 3-1 victory.

Messi contributed an assist in that match, bringing his career World Cup assist total to 10. He has scored 21 World Cup goals in total, a record that continues to rewrite history.

Argentina face England — the home of football — in the semifinal on Thursday. The rivalry carries deep historical weight: the two nations fought the Falklands War, and the 1986 Mexico World Cup quarterfinal saw Argentina's Diego Maradona score the infamous "Hand of God" goal against England.