Lionel Messi is used to making history and on Tuesday, during Argentina’s Round of 16 match against Egypt, the star striker put his name in the Guinness World Records book for an unwanted performance.
The Argentina legend missed his fourth career World Cup penalty and his second of the ongoing tournament, securing the record for most missed penalties in FIFA World Cup history.
Argentina were already 1-0 down when they won a penalty, a golden chance to equalise, and Messi stepped up, aimed for the right corner, but Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir prevented the ball from entering the net.
He missed his first penalty during the group stage against Austria; however, he didn’t let it rattle him for long as the footballer returned in the same match and scored twice in the victory for his team. He also became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 17 tournament goals to his name.
Guinness World Records have confirmed Messi’s unwanted performance via a post on X, noting that the iconic goalscorer has now missed four penalties in his entire World Cup career, not counting penalties, twice as many as anyone who has ever played at the tournament.
The two previous penalties he missed were one against Iceland in 2018 and the other against Poland in 2022.
