Lionel Messi is experiencing a brilliant 2026 World Cup, but his penalty kicks have become a controversial topic. As Argentina advances deep into the tournament, the question is whether coach Lionel Scaloni should consider assigning a penalty kick to another player.
At the age of 39, Messi continues to prove the class of one of the greatest players in history. In the 3-2 comeback victory over Egypt in the round of 16, he assisted a goal and directly scored another goal, thereby breaking a series of records at the World Cup.
Messi became the oldest player to both score and assist in a World Cup match, and also the first to score in 6 consecutive knockout matches. He also increased his total assists at the World Cup to nine, surpassing Diego Maradona to lead the all-time list.
However, amidst that brilliant performance, there was still a low note. When Argentina was awarded a penalty in the first half against Egypt, Messi could not beat goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir with a dangerous shot. That was his second missed penalty at the 2026 World Cup, after a missed penalty against Austria in the group stage.
Although Argentina eventually created a spectacular comeback, Messi's missed shot almost cost his team. According to Opta statistics, he became the first player in history to miss more than one penalty in the same World Cup (excluding penalty shootouts). In World Cup history, Messi has also missed four penalties, more than any other player.
Statistics show that Messi's penalty efficiency is not really commensurate with his class. In Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami and the Argentine national team, Messi took 148 penalties, scored 114 goals, and achieved a success rate of 77%.
That is also the reason for the appearance of opinions that Argentina should consider changing penalty takers. In the current squad, Leandro Paredes has a success rate of 92.9%, while Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez both achieve 91.7%. Julian Alvarez also scored in 89.5% of penalty kicks in his career. All have superior statistics compared to Messi.
Of course, the pressure of taking penalties at the World Cup is very different. Messi has taken 32 penalties for the national team, while the rest of the squad combined only took seven times. His experience is not easy to replace, but continuing to entrust this responsibility to Messi also contains many risks.
No one denies Messi's influence on Argentina. He is still the "soul" in the journey to defend the championship and continuously creates differences at important moments. However, as opponents become stronger and opportunities become fewer, a missed penalty can cost the whole tournament.
Therefore, Argentina should seriously consider the option of assigning the penalty kick task to a player with better performance, in order to minimize risks in the remaining journey of the 2026 World Cup.
