Lionel Messi entered the FIFA World Cup record books for an unwanted reason after missing a penalty during Argentina's Round of 16 clash against Egypt at the 2026 tournament.

The defending champions fell 1-0 behind when Yasser Ibrahim powered home a header for Egypt. Argentina were then awarded a penalty after Nicolas Tagliafico was brought down inside the box, but Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Shobeir guessed correctly to deny Messi from the spot and preserve his side's lead.

The miss was Messi's fourth failed penalty in World Cup matches and made him the first player in the tournament's history to miss two penalties in a single edition, excluding penalty shootouts. Earlier in the 2026 World Cup, he had also seen a spot-kick saved against Austria.

Messi's World Cup penalty record has been a mixed one. He first missed from the spot against Iceland at the 2018 World Cup before converting against Saudi Arabia in Argentina's opening match of the 2022 edition. He was then denied by Poland in the group stage but bounced back by scoring penalties against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, Croatia in the semi-finals and France in the final as Argentina lifted the trophy. At the 2026 World Cup, he missed another penalty against Austria before being denied once again by Egypt in the Round of 16.

Having now scored four and missed four penalties in World Cup matches, Messi has converted exactly half of his spot-kicks on football's biggest stage, with the latest miss adding an unwanted milestone to his remarkable international career.