Lionel Messi Misses Two Consecutive Penalties at the 2026 World Cup, Does Argentina Need a New Penalty Taker?

Lionel Messi is once again in the spotlight at the 2026 World Cup, though not for spectacular goals or brilliant assists. His missed penalty has sparked major questions over whether the Argentina captain still deserves to remain the team's first-choice spot kick taker.

Debate around this matter intensified after Messi failed to convert a penalty once again during Argentina's Round of 16 victory over Egypt.

The opportunity arrived in the 21st minute, when Nicolas Tagliafico was fouled by Hassan inside the penalty box. Following a VAR review, the referee confirmed the foul, as Hassan had stepped directly on Tagliafico's foot.

Messi stepped up as the designated taker. However, his shot towards the left side of the goal was perfectly read by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who pulled off an outstanding save.

This was not La Pulga's first penalty miss at this tournament. He had previously failed to convert from the spot during Argentina's group stage match against Austria, though on that occasion his attempt drifted wide of the left post.

Even so, Messi still went on to score in both matches, meaning these penalty misses did not derail his overall contribution for the Albiceleste.

Statistically however, this record still draws significant attention. According to the BBC, Messi is now the first player in history to miss two consecutive penalties in a single World Cup edition.

Another key observation: both of these missed penalties were struck towards the left side of goal, leading many to question if his penalty execution pattern has become predictable for opposing goalkeepers.

Messi's World Cup Penalty Record Under Scrutiny

Across his entire World Cup career, Messi has been entrusted with 8 penalties for Argentina. From those attempts, he has only scored 4 times.

This puts Messi's World Cup penalty conversion rate at just 50 percent, an unusually low figure for a player of his calibre, let alone an 8-time Ballon d'Or winner.

That said, a very different picture emerges when reviewing his full professional career statistics.

Opta data confirms Messi has taken 148 penalties across all official competitive matches for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and the Argentina national team.

From this total, he has converted 114, resulting in an overall career penalty success rate of 77 percent.

These figures indicate that his two misses at the 2026 World Cup are best viewed as an anomaly, rather than an accurate reflection of Messi's ability as a penalty taker.

Should Argentina Replace Their First Choice Penalty Taker?

These back-to-back misses have inevitably reignited debate over who should take Argentina's penalties in upcoming fixtures.

On one hand, his 50% World Cup conversion rate provides valid cause to consider alternative options, particularly as every single goalscoring chance becomes critical in the knockout stages.

On the other, Messi's unrivalled big match experience, mental fortitude and 77% career success rate provide very strong grounds for him to retain first choice penalty duties. Ultimately, this final decision will fall to Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni.