Journalism of Courage
Lionel Messi misses his second penalty of World Cup in RO16 match vs Egypt
FIFA World Cup: This was Messi’s fourth miss from the spot in World Cups with the Argentine captain previously getting thwarted in 2018 vs Iceland, in 2022 vs Poland and now in 2026 vs Austria as well as Egypt.
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) fails to score from a penalty kick during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Lionel Messi missed another penalty in the 2026 World Cup, his second of the tournament after his failed attempt from the spot vs Austria. Messi on Monday had the golden opportunity to equalize for Argentina against Egypt after the Latin America side had gone 0-1 down but his shot was predicted by goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.
In the 22nd minute, Messi took the spot kick after Nicolas Tagliafico was fouled in the box by Haissem Hassan but Shobeir guessed the right way and palmed the ball away. Earlier, Egypt were given the lead by a 15th minute header by Yasser Ibrahim.
This was Messi’s fourth miss from the spot in World Cups with the Argentine captain previously getting thwarted in 2018 vs Iceland, in 2022 vs Poland and now in 2026 vs Austria as well as Egypt.
Messi ultimately scored his eighth goal of this year’s World Cup, extending his scoring streak to nine consecutive games for Argentina and moving to the top of a tight Golden Boot race.
The 21st goal of Messi’s World Cup career came in the 83rd minute off an assist from Gonzalo Montiel, leveling the game at 2-2 and making up for a saved penalty kick in the 19th minute. Messi’s goal came only minutes after assisting on Argentina’s first score of the game – a header from Cristian Romero in the 79th minute.
Messi has now scored in a record nine consecutive World Cup matches dating back to Argentina’s title run in 2022. Tuesday’s goal marked his 13th in that nine-game span.
In the race for his first Golden Boot, Messi entered Tuesday’s match even with France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland at seven goals each. Mbappe held the tiebreaker with two assists. England’s Harry Kane is also in the running with six goals.
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The goal also gave Messi a two-goal lead over Mbappe on the all-time World Cup goal leaderboard.
Messi finished second in the Golden Boot race behind Mbappe in 2022 with seven goals while leading Argentina to the title. He tied for third with four goals in 2014.
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