The Argentine superstar missed a penalty against Austria, marking the third time he has missed an opportunity from the 11-meter spot at the World Cup.
Coach Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina team was awarded a penalty right in the 9th minute after Lautaro Martinez was fouled in the penalty area. Messi, 38 years old, took responsibility for the kick. However, after his familiar run-up, he sent the ball wide of the left post. The former Barcelona star held his head in disappointment after the unfortunate miss.
This is the third time the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner has missed a penalty at the World Cup. Previously, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, his shot was saved by Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson in a 1-1 draw.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi again failed to beat Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from the 11-meter spot.
According to The Athletic, the missed penalty against Austria was the 33rd time Messi was unsuccessful out of a total of 149 penalties taken (excluding penalty shootouts), achieving a success rate of about 77%.
One of the most famous misses of Messi’s career occurred in the 2012 Champions League semi-finals, when Barcelona was eliminated by Chelsea. Nevertheless, he still successfully converted 4 penalties during the journey to lead Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.
Among them was a goal from the 11-meter spot in the final against France, along with a successful shot in the subsequent penalty shootout.
A hat-trick against Algeria last week helped Messi equal Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 goals in the World Cup finals. If he had scored from the early penalty against Austria, Messi would have held this record exclusively sooner. However, he did not have to wait too long.
In the 38th minute, Messi made history when his finish beat goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, opening the score at 1-0 for Argentina and surpassing Klose’s achievement.
In the second-half stoppage time, he scored another goal to extend the record to 18 goals, while sealing a 2-0 victory for Argentina.
