Lionel Messi endured a rare setback on Tuesday (July 7) after missing a penalty during Argentina’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash against Egypt at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta. The missed spot-kick saw the Argentina captain enter the history books for an unwanted reason.
The 39-year-old, who is the most-capped player as well as the all-time leading goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history, became the first player ever to miss four penalties in the tournament.
Messi’s effort from the spot was saved by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir in the 21st minute of the match. Earlier in the tournament, he had also failed to convert a penalty during Argentina’s Group J fixture against Austria at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Messi miss the penalty. pic.twitter.com/gL66bbFMm8
— Oxygen45 (@Bipinyadav4555) July 7, 2026
The Argentine great had previously missed one penalty each at the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, taking his tally of missed penalties in the competition to four—more than any other player in World Cup history.
List of penalties missed by Lionel Messi in FIFA World Cup
| EDITION | AGAINST | GOALKEEPER | VENUE | DATE |
| 2018 | Iceland | Hannes Þór Halldórsson | Otkritie Arena, Moscow | June 16, 2018 |
| 2022 | Poland | Wojciech Szczęsny | Stadium 974, Doha | November 30, 2022 |
| 2026 | Austria | Alexander Schlager | AT&T Stadium, Arlington | June 22, 2026 |
| 2026 | Egypt | Mostafa Shobeir | Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta | July 7, 2026 |
Messi first failed to convert a penalty at the FIFA World Cup during Argentina’s group-stage match against Iceland in 2018. He was also unable to score from the spot in Argentina’s group-stage encounter against Poland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi has now missed two penalties at the FIFA World Cup 2026, making him the first player in the history of the tournament to fail to convert two spot-kicks in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup.
2 – Lionel Messi is the first player in World Cup history to miss two penalties at a single edition (excluding shootouts).
Shock. pic.twitter.com/PThOcWlcat
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 7, 2026
Messi has taken eight penalties in FIFA World Cup matches, the most by any player in the tournament’s history, but has converted only four of them.
