Expert Opinion: Why is Messi so shaky at penalty spot?
Photo: Reuters.
Lionel Messi and records — in the football world, the two words seem almost complementary. Throughout his career, the Argentine superstar has inscribed countless accomplishments in his name. However, in the current World Cup match against Egypt, he added an unwarranted record before his name. The Albiceleste captain now sits at the top of the list for most missed penalties on the world stage. But why does a player like Messi miss penalties? Experts have sought answers.
In the first half of the match held at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir denied Messi from the penalty spot. It was Messi's eighth penalty kick in World Cup history. Prior to this, no single player in World Cup history had been given as many penalty opportunities. Combining regulation time and extra time, excluding tie-breakers, Messi now holds the record for the most penalties taken and, simultaneously, the most penalties missed in World Cup history.
With his failure to convert the spot-kick against Egypt, Messi's total missed penalties in World Cups now stands at 4 — the highest number of penalty misses by any player in World Cup history. Nor is that all; in the group stage of this tournament, he also missed a penalty against Austria. Consequently, the 39-year-old forward became the first player in history to miss two penalties in a single edition of the World Cup.
At the 2018 Russia World Cup, Messi missed a penalty in the group stage against Iceland. At the 2022 Qatar World Cup, he made the same error in a group match against Poland. On that occasion, however, Argentina ended a 36-year drought and won the World Cup. In the current tournament's group stage, Messi missed a penalty against Austria, followed by his latest miss against Egypt yesterday.
In his international career so far, Messi has successfully converted 25 of 32 penalties. Across his entire club and international career, he has scored 116 goals from a total of 150 penalty attempts — a success rate of approximately 77%. This is somewhat below the average success rate of top-level penalty specialists. Penalty expert Geir Jordet has stated: "Because Messi looks at the goalkeeper while taking his shot, his focus shifts away from the ball. As a result, the accuracy of his shot is naturally not perfectly precise."
While penalty specialists like Harry Kane, Jorginho, or Robert Lewandowski rely on specific techniques, Messi frequently changes his shot type and target, which often backfires. In this World Cup, both Austria's goalkeeper Alexander Schlager and Egypt's Mostafa Shobeir remained patient and composed, refusing to be distracted by Messi's slow run-up. Consequently, Messi became flustered, made hasty decisions, and lost control of his shots.
Of course, alongside these disappointments from the spot, Messi has also authored many epic moments from penalties for Argentina. Notably, during Argentina's triumphant campaign at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, excluding tie-breakers, he scored from penalties in four crucial matches. However, in the current tournament, penalty luck seems to have turned somewhat against LM10. Ultimately, with the team advancing to the quarter-finals, the Argentine captain can at least breathe a sigh of relief on this journey.
