Argentina national team captain Lionel Messi has become the first player in World Cup history to fail to convert two penalty kicks during the same tournament.
“Elchi” reports that Messi failed to convert an 11-meter penalty kick awarded in the 21st minute of the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match against Egypt.
His shot was saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.
Prior to this, Messi had missed a penalty kick in the second round of the group stage during the match against Austria, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Argentina.
Thus, the number of penalties Messi has taken during regular play in World Cups that he failed to convert has reached four, which is the worst record in the tournament’s history. This only accounts for 11-meter penalty kicks taken during matches, while penalty shootouts are not included in this statistic.
It should be noted that the Argentina national team captain was a gold medalist at the 2022 World Cup and a silver medalist at the 2014 World Cup. He is also a 2008 Olympic champion and a winner of the Copa América in 2021 and 2024. Furthermore, he holds the world record for the most Ballon d’Or awards, having won the trophy 8 times.