Messi became the first player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup, excluding shootouts, after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved his 21st-minute spot kick.
The goal pushes him to the top of the current tournament standings and widens his historic lead.
Argentina Egypt 3-2 ended in a late World Cup 2026 comeback Tuesday, as Lionel Messi missed a penalty before scoring the equaliser against Egypt.
Argentina scored three times in the final 13 minutes of the Round of 16 match to reach the next stage.
Argentina won the penalty after Enzo Fernández was fouled by Haissem Hassan inside the box. Opta said Messi has taken eight World Cup penalties in regulation time and missed four of them.
Messi had also missed from the spot against Austria at the 2026 World Cup, Iceland in 2018, and Poland in 2022.
Messi responded by scoring Argentina’s equaliser in the 83rd minute after earlier striking the post while Egypt led 1-0.
The goal extended Messi’s scoring run to nine consecutive World Cup matches, dating back to Argentina’s title-winning campaign in 2022. He has scored 13 goals during that nine-match run.
Messi’s 2026 World Cup tally rose to eight goals, one ahead of France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race.
Read: Argentina Beat Egypt 3-2 as Messi Reaches Quarter-Finals
Opta said players have converted 32 of 49 penalties at the World Cup 2026, a 65.3% success rate, the lowest tournament rate since 1966.
Historical Context: He previously missed against Iceland (2018) and Poland (2022). Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan is the only other player to miss multiple penalties across a World Cup career (2006 and 2010).
