Lionel Messi has spent much of the 2026 World Cup adding to his legend. On Tuesday, he added a record Argentina would rather not see.
During Argentina’s round-of-16 meeting with Egypt, Messi failed to convert a penalty, giving him an unfortunate slice of World Cup history. The miss made the 39-year-old legend the first player to fail to convert two penalties in a single men’s World Cup edition, excluding shootouts, according to the Opta and Guinness World Records posts circulating during the match.
The timing made it more than a trivia note. Argentina entered the knockout clash as the defending champion, but not exactly looking untouchable after needing extra time and an own goal to squeeze past Cape Verde in the previous round. Egypt, meanwhile, arrived in Atlanta after beating Australia on penalties for the nation’s first-ever World Cup knockout victory. In that kind of setting, a missed penalty carries weight beyond the stat line.
Messi’s latest World Cup record went the wrong way
What makes the moment stand out even more is that it was not Messi’s first miss from the spot in this tournament. He also failed to convert a penalty against Austria in the group stage, though he recovered in that match to score twice as Argentina won 2-0. That same performance helped him move past Miroslav Klose and become the men’s World Cup all-time leading scorer.
That contrast is what makes this a compelling story. Messi has otherwise been authoring one of the defining tournaments of his career. He became the first player to appear in six men’s World Cups earlier in the competition, and most of Argentina’s path has still revolved around him. Tuesday’s missed penalty, then, lands as a rare blemish in the middle of a run that has otherwise been about milestones and control.
In the social posts shared after the miss, Guinness World Records noted that Messi now has four missed World Cup penalties, excluding shootouts — twice as many as any other player. For a player so often associated with precision and composure, that is a jarring statistic.
Why this matters for Argentina right now
The bigger story for fans is not the record itself. It is what the miss says about Argentina’s margin for error.
Lionel Scaloni’s side already showed vulnerability against Cape Verde, when the Albiceleste needed a 111th-minute own goal to avoid one of the tournament’s biggest shocks. Egypt came into this match with confidence after its dramatic shootout win over Australia, and this was not the kind of opponent likely to hand Argentina repeated chances if the holders wasted a major one.
That is why Messi’s miss could loom larger than his earlier one against Austria. In that match, Argentina still had room to recover, and Messi himself turned the story around before full time. In a knockout game, especially one where momentum can swing quickly, missed penalties tend to stick.
At the same time, Argentina’s hopes still run through Messi. He has been central to nearly every major step in this tournament, and one miss does not erase that reality. If Argentina responds and advances, Tuesday’s moment will likely be remembered as a brief scare. If the holders stumble, though, it will become one of the defining images of the round.
For now, it stands as a strange addition to Messi’s World Cup résumé: another historic moment, just not the kind Argentina wanted.
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