Lionel Messi has set a FIFA World Cup record, just not the one he wanted, after he missed a penalty against Austria. The 38-year-old failed to score from the spot for Argentina in the first half against the Europeans in their encounter.
Argentina’s captain became the player with the most penalty misses in FIFA World Cup history with his miss against Austria. He missed a penalty for the third time in the competition, more than any other player has missed.
Thanks for the submission!
Messi was chasing the World Cup record for most goals in the competition after his hat-trick against Algeria saw him tie Miroslav Klose. He got his first chance to break the record when Argentina were awarded a penalty in the opening exchanges against Austria.
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez won the penalty after both Xavier Schlager and Stefan Posch went through him to get to the ball in the box. The referee awarded the penalty after a brief VAR check, and Lionel Messi stepped up to shoot the penalty from 12 yards out.
The Inter Miami man took on a relaxed run up and struck the ball without conviction, picking placement over power. His attempt went wide of the upright, with Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager having dived in the right direction.
Excluding shootouts, Messi has attempted seven penalties since making his World Cup debut 20 years ago, scoring four times and missing thrice. The forward has missed 33 of his 149 career penalties, putting his success rate at around 78%.
Lionel Messi breaks FIFA World Cup goal record
Lionel Messi broke the goalscoring record in the FIFA World Cup with a goal in the first half against Austria. The Argentina international took his tally in the competition to 17 in 28 matches, scoring in a sixth consecutive game in the competition.
Messi missed a penalty after just nine minutes in Dallas against Austria, firing wide from 12 yards after Lautaro Martinez had been scythed down in the box. He made no such mistake from open play, sweeping home from just inside the box following a Jordi Alba-esque cross from Facundo Medina.
In addition to breaking Miroslav Klose’s record, Lionel Messi became only the third player in history to score in six successive FIFA World Cup matches. The Argentina captain moves once more to the summit of the goalscoring charts in this summer’s tournament with his fourth goal in just two games.
Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen
