Lionel Messi continues to strengthen his case as the greatest footballer ever at the 2026 World Cup, dragging defending champions Argentina deep into the knockout rounds. In the last 16 against Egypt, he produced a match-defining performance, scoring once and creating another as Argentina recovered from 2-0 down with little more than 10 minutes remaining to complete an incredible comeback. Along the way, he became the oldest player to score and assist in a World Cup match, extended his record for most games with both a goal and an assist (five), and became the competition's all-time leading assist provider with nine, overtaking Diego Maradona. However, he also set an unwanted record from the penalty spot. Messi missed his second penalty of the tournament against Egypt, having also failed from the spot against Austria in the group stage. No player in World Cup history has ever missed two penalties in normal time at a single edition. Across his World Cup career, excluding shootouts, he has converted only four of his eight penalties. Messi himself acknowledged the miss weighed heavily on him, admitting he broke down after the final whistle despite the victory, saying, "I cried because I felt that I let my team-mates down because of the penalty I missed." The article questions whether, amid another exhibition of genius, Argentina should consider taking penalties away from him.
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