Messi Sets Unwanted World Cup Record with Second Penalty Miss

Lionel Messi missed another penalty at the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, becoming the first player to miss two penalties in the same edition of the tournament.

The Argentina captain failed from the spot during his team's round-of-16 match against Egypt in Atlanta.

Messi, 39, saw his penalty saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 20th minute after the goalkeeper guessed the right direction and pushed the ball away.

It was Messi's second penalty miss at the 2026 World Cup. Earlier in the tournament, he had sent a spot kick wide during Argentina's win over Austria.

Speaking on ITV commentary, Jon Champion described it as an “unwanted World Cup record.”

Interestingly, both penalty misses came on the same side. Against Austria, Messi failed to hit the target, while against Egypt his shot was saved.

With the latest miss, Messi has now failed to convert 34 of the 150 penalties he has taken in his career, giving him a success rate of 77 per cent.

He has also missed four of the eight penalties he has taken at FIFA World Cups, meaning he has converted only half of his spot kicks in the tournament.

Against Austria, Messi used a delayed run-up before shooting wide. Against Egypt, he struck the ball with power, but it was at a comfortable height for Shobeir to make the save.

Earlier in the match, Egypt took the lead through Yasser Ibrahim in the 15th minute. Ibrahim met a cross inside the penalty area and headed past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez to put Egypt 1-0 ahead.

Egypt went into half-time with a 1-0 lead over the defending champions.