Argentine legend Lionel Messi has written his name into World Cup records in an unexpected and unflattering way, officially becoming the player who has missed the most penalties in the history of the FIFA World Cup — 4 missed spot kicks in total — after failing to convert his latest attempt against the brilliance of Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobair. The Argentine star has now deepened his World Cup complex by squandering two consecutive penalties in a single edition of the tournament.
Messi's four World Cup penalty misses are spread across different editions: the first came at Russia 2018 against Iceland, when goalkeeper Hannes Þór Halldórsson made the save; the second was wasted at Qatar 2022 against Poland's Wojciech Szczęsny; then at the 2026 World Cup he missed two in a row — the first in the group stage against Austria, and the fourth and final one in the round of 16 against Egypt, stopped by Shobair's historic intervention.
Despite Messi subsequently managing to turn the situation around and lead the "Tango" in overcoming the deficit, securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory to advance to the quarter-finals, the image of him missing his fourth career World Cup penalty stole the spotlight, becoming the defining headline that immortalises the Pharaohs' historic resilience on a night that held the world in suspense.