Messi's missed spot‑kick writes unwanted World Cup record

Lionel Messi’s missed spot‑kick has left Argentina hanging on the brink of a World Cup knockout exit, as the Barcelona legend failed to convert his second penalty of the tournament in today’s Round of 16 clash with Egypt at Atlanta Stadium. The miss made Messi the first player to miss two penalties at a single FIFA World Cup tournament, excluding shootouts. This unwanted record was set earlier today during the Round of 16 encounter with Egypt. The incident unfolded in the 20th minute of the first half, with the defending world champions already trailing 1‑0 after a shock early goal from Egypt’s Yasser Ibrahim. After midfielder Enzo Fernández was fouled inside the box, Messi stepped up to the spot, eyeing a chance to level the score and boost his World Cup Golden Boot tally.

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Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir guessed correctly, diving low to his left to parry away Messi’s low effort. The save cemented the Argentine captain’s penalty‑kick woes on the sport’s biggest stage. Messi has now taken eight career penalties in World Cup history, converting exactly half of them. His first miss of the tournament came in the group stage against Austria, where he sent the ball entirely wide of the target.

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Today’s failure against Shobeir officially places him alone in the record books as the only player to miss twice from 12 yards in a single edition. While Messi already secured immortality earlier in this campaign by overtaking Miroslav Klose as the all‑time leading scorer, his spot‑kick vulnerability remains his rarest Achilles’ heel. A photo by Elsa/Getty Images captured the moment of the save. With a little under 20 minutes left in this win‑or‑go‑home knockout fixture, Argentina are trailing by two goals and the team faces the very real prospect of an early exit.