Should Argentina take Messi off penalties?
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- Messi became the first player in World Cup history to miss two penalties in normal time at a single edition after Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved his spot-kick, following a prior miss against Austria in the group stage.
- Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 with little more than 10 minutes remaining before Cristian Romero, Messi, and Enzo Fernández scored to seal a 3-2 stoppage-time victory in the last 16.
- Messi's career penalty conversion rate of 77% (114 of 148, excluding shootouts, per Opta) trails Harry Kane (90.7%), Cristiano Ronaldo (85.2%), Erling Haaland (84.1%), and Kylian Mbappé (81.0%), and falls below the 79% historical baseline.
- Teammate alternatives post superior rates: Leandro Paredes (92.9%), Alexis Mac Allister (91.7%), Enzo Fernández (91.7%), and Julián Álvarez (89.5%), per Opta.
- Scaloni declined to strip Messi of penalty duties ahead of the Switzerland quarterfinal, telling reporters: "Leo will take penalties if he wants to… if he wants to take them, he'll take them."
- The 39-year-old Messi broke down in tears after the Egypt match, saying he felt he let his teammates down — though his equalizer made him the oldest player ever to score and assist in a World Cup match, his fifth time doing both.
Why it matters: Argentina have been awarded eight penalties across the last two World Cups — double the tally of any other side — yet Messi's 77% conversion rate sits below the 79% baseline and well behind Kane's 90.7%. With Scaloni refusing to remove him ahead of the Switzerland quarterfinal, every missed spot-kick tightens the margin for a title defense that has already required a 3-2 comeback to survive.
