- July 20, 2026
- 5:20 pm
- Israel
The name of Israeli TV presenter Tzofit Grant unexpectedly became one of the fastest-growing search queries in Israel on July 20, 2026. Within a few hours, the query gathered more than 20,000 searches, and interest in it increased by over 1000%.
The reason for the surge was not a family drama, a report of illness, or the end of Grant’s television career. Israelis began to massively search for information after publications with alarming headlines that the TV presenter was ‘saying goodbye’ and admitting: ‘I can’t breathe.’
In fact, it was about Lionel Messi, Argentina’s defeat in the final of the 2026 World Cup, and Tzofit Grant’s emotional reaction to what was likely the legendary footballer’s last World Cup.
More than 20,000 searches in a few hours
According to Google Trends data displayed in Israel on July 20, the number of searches for Tzofit Grant’s name exceeded 20,000, and the growth in search interest was more than 1000%.
The trend began to gain momentum approximately two hours before the Google Trends page snapshot was taken. Next to the TV presenter’s name, the system showed related topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni, and the World Cup.
This almost immediately indicated that the interest was not related to Grant’s personal life but to the World Cup final, which took place on the evening of July 19.
However, the headlines of Israeli entertainment publications were composed in such a way that readers could assume something completely different.
On the morning of July 20, the Israeli publication Israel Hayom published an article with the headline ‘Tzofit Grant says goodbye: “I can’t breathe”’. The subheading stated that the TV presenter and wife of singer Shuli Rand was ‘saying goodbye with pain and longing,’ but the name of the person to whom her words were dedicated was not immediately mentioned.
Soon a similar publication appeared on the ICE website. Its headline sounded even more dramatic: ‘Tzofit Grant says goodbye with pain: “I can’t breathe, I love him so much”’.
It was the combination of a well-known name, words about saying goodbye, and the phrase ‘I can’t breathe’ that could have triggered a wave of search queries. People were trying to understand what happened to Tzofit Grant, whom she was saying goodbye to, and whether a tragedy had occurred in her family.
What Tzofit Grant actually wrote
On the evening of July 19, Grant was following the World Cup final between the teams of Spain and Argentina.
Shortly before the decisive match, she posted several stories on Instagram dedicated to Lionel Messi. In one of them, the TV presenter shared a video of a bright game episode of the Argentine captain. The video posed the question of whether Messi is really an ordinary person, as his actions on the field looked so incredible.
Grant accompanied the publication with a short emotional phrase:
‘I can’t breathe… oh.’
In another story, she showed the moment after the final when Spanish players approached Messi and hugged him. Tzofit Grant called the event madness, described the footballer as a person with a bright soul, and admitted that she loves him very much.
Thus, the word ‘saying goodbye’ did not refer to her husband, former spouse, friend, or television project. Grant was emotionally saying goodbye to Messi as the main hero of an entire football era and to the World Cup, which likely became the last for the 39-year-old Argentine.
NANews — News of Israel notes: there was no official announcement of any tragedy in Tzofit Grant’s family. The viral search interest arose around her publications about football.
Why the headline made Israelis search for Tzofit Grant
The wording ‘Tzofit Grant says goodbye’ without additional explanation allows for several interpretations.
A reader might think that the TV presenter is parting with her husband Shuli Rand, lost a loved one, is leaving television, or announced a serious personal crisis. The words ‘I can’t breathe’ and ‘I love him so much’ added to the anxiety.
In reality, Lionel Messi’s name appeared only within the publications. It was a classic information gap: the headline created a sense of an unknown personal drama, and the explanation was only found after clicking through to the page.
Most likely, this is why people did not limit themselves to reading one article but separately entered Tzofit Grant’s name in Google, checked the latest news, and tried to find the original source.
An additional factor was the popularity of the TV presenter herself. Tzofit Grant is known in Israel as a journalist, actress, public figure, and host of the documentary program ‘Lost.’ In the project, she helps participants search for relatives with whom contact was lost many years ago. Grant is also the president of the Israeli organization ‘Enosh,’ which supports people facing mental disorders and their families.
Her personal life is also constantly in the spotlight of the Israeli press. Grant is married to singer and actor Shuli Rand, and her former husband Avram Grant is a well-known football coach. Therefore, the TV presenter’s emotional reaction to the major football event seems natural, but the ambiguous presentation turned several Instagram stories into a major search trend.
What happened in the Spain vs. Argentina final
The 2026 World Cup final took place on July 19 at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Spanish team defeated the reigning world champion Argentina with a score of 1:0 after extra time. The only goal in the 106th minute was scored by substitute Ferran Torres. By this time, the Argentine team was already down to ten men after Enzo Fernandez was sent off.
For Spain, this is the second World Cup title. The country first won it in 2010.
The match was played with noticeable game advantage by the Spaniards. Argentina struggled to create dangerous moments for a long time, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez repeatedly saved his team. According to the Associated Press, 80,663 spectators were present at the stadium.
After the final whistle, Lionel Messi did not hide his emotions. He received a silver medal and left the field in tears. For the 39-year-old captain of Argentina, this was his third World Cup final: previously, only Brazilian Cafu had achieved such a feat among footballers.
It was the footage of a distraught Messi, supported by Spanish players, that triggered Tzofit Grant’s reaction.
Did Messi really end his career
Despite numerous words about ‘saying goodbye,’ at the time of publication, there is no basis to assert that Lionel Messi has definitively ended his performances for the Argentina national team.
The final against Spain is widely perceived as his last match in World Cups. However, the final decision about the footballer’s international career and a likely departure from the national team are not the same.
Therefore, it is more accurate to say that Tzofit Grant was saying goodbye to Messi as a participant in World Cups and a symbol of a concluded football era. She did not report his death or refer to an official statement about leaving the national team.
For the Argentine footballer, the defeat was especially symbolic. Ten years ago, in 2016, at the same stadium after losing the Copa America final, Messi announced his departure from the national team. Later, he changed his decision, returned to the team, and won the Copa America and the 2022 World Cup with it.
Now his journey in World Cups likely ended there as well — in New Jersey, but after the final against Spain.
How several stories turned into a national trend
The story with Tzofit Grant shows how search trends are formed in Israel today.
First, a well-known person publishes an emotional reaction on social media. Then entertainment sites turn it into material with a maximally alarming headline. After that, users go to Google because it’s impossible to understand what happened from the headline alone.
As a result, several short stories about Messi brought Tzofit Grant’s name more than 20,000 searches and a growth in search interest of over 1000%.
Simultaneously, users searched for Messi, the Argentina national team, Lionel Scaloni, and World Cup news. This confirms that the trend was part of a broader emotional reaction to Argentina’s defeat and the conclusion of the football tournament.
NANews — News of Israel continues to monitor the country’s main search trends and explain the real events behind the loud headlines.
The main point of this story: nothing tragic happened to Tzofit Grant. She did not announce a divorce or report leaving television. The Israeli presenter merely reacted very emotionally to Argentina’s defeat and Lionel Messi’s possible farewell to World Cups.