Lionel Messi before scoring the 17th and 18th goals in World Cup history, he missed a penalty in Argentina's victory over Austria. That was the 4th time El Puga missed a penalty in a total of 7 times he had such a chance in the biggest playground on the planet. In 2022 in Qatar, Messi did not beat Wojciech Szczesny (Poland). In Russia in 2018, he was defeated by Thor Halldorsson (Iceland).
If counting all penalty kicks in the national team jersey, Messi succeeded in 25/31 situations (80% rate). If counting in the club jersey, Messi scored 116 goals after 149 penalties (77% rate). This number is lower than the average of top strikers in the world at the moment.
One of the unrelated reasons but used as evidence to explain this is that Messi is left-footed. Many people still think that being right-footed will help players shoot penalties more accurately. According to The Athletic, the number of left-footed players is only 1/5 of the number of right-footed players. From there, the number of penalty kicks with the left foot is also significantly less. However, there is one point that left-footed players show an advantage, which is that they make it harder for goalkeepers to predict the shooting direction.
Proof of Messi's case, he had many very easy penalty kicks when wearing the national team jersey. In 2005 at the U20 World Cup, Messi scored both goals with penalties in Argentina's victory over Nigeria in the final. Later, when wearing the national team jersey, Messi had 9 penalty kicks and succeeded 7 times. El Puga missed twice both times at Copa America. The first time was in 2016 when Argentina lost to Chile in the final. Then in 2024 in the match Argentina eliminated Ecuador in the semi-finals.
Analyzing the miss in the match against Austria, it was seen that it was just a technical error in a certain situation. After a short warm-up, M10 slowed down in the last 2 steps, trying to lure Schlager to reveal the direction to fly. The Austrian goalkeeper stood firm, his arms wide open, as Messi looked straight into his eyes as he approached. Schlager fell late but did enough to distract. The Albiceleste captain made a rather clumsy football that went wide of the right post.
This warm-up technique is a common technique seen in Jorginho (Italy), Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and recently Harry Kane (England). All three of these people often wait for the goalkeeper to reveal the direction of falling and then shoot. Messi does not shoot much in this style, so the technique has not reached the accuracy of every moment. He seems nervous when he sees Schlager falling in the right direction, so he cannot change the ball's trajectory in time.
At the 2022 World Cup, Messi successfully converted 6/7 penalty kicks, including 2 times in the penalty shootout with France (final) and the Netherlands (quarter-final). At that time, El Pulga observed Andries Noppert and Hugo Lloris and then chose a diagonal shot, before shooting to the other side.
In the early stages of his career, Messi often shot low from a short and slow run, tending to put the ball into the far corner. El Pulga tends to take quick penalties after the referee's whistle. Research has shown that this is related to a lower conversion rate. Therefore, it is considered a sign of anxiety.
In 2012 when Messi had 91 goals, he scored 14 goals out of 17 penalty kicks. From that point on, the superstar began to apply deceleration techniques. Stronger shots and higher balls became common, especially on the right side. Like most other players, these shots are more predictable and must rely on speed to beat the goalkeeper.
Every year Messi takes many penalties and he misses at least 1 time. El Pulga hit the crossbar with a Panenka in the match against Ecuador at Copa America 2024. A similar shot in Inter Miami shirt was caught by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte), making Messi look quite clumsy at that time.
