Argentina captain Lionel Messi has set an unwanted FIFA World Cup record after missing another penalty during his side’s Round of 16 clash against Egypt at the 2026 tournament.
The missed spot-kick means Messi now holds the record for the most penalties missed in World Cup history outside penalty shoot-outs, with four unsuccessful attempts.
Prior to the tournament, Messi shared the record of two misses with Ghana legend Asamoah Gyan, having failed from the spot against Iceland at the 2018 World Cup and Poland at the 2022 edition.
He then missed another penalty against Austria during the group stage of the 2026 tournament before failing again against Egypt in the Round of 16.
Messi has now missed four of the eight penalties he has taken at the FIFA World Cup, twice as many as any other player in the competition’s history.
Asamoah Gyan remains second on the all-time list with two missed penalties, recorded during the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.
Confirming the milestone, Guinness World Records posted on X on Tuesday: “Lionel Messi has missed four penalties at FIFA World Cup’s, not including shoot-outs. “Twice as many as any other player.”
The record applies only to penalties taken during regulation and extra time, with penalty shoot-outs excluded from the count.
