With less than 80 days to go before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, several teams are preparing to bring home the coveted trophy. Argentina will seek to defend the title it won in Qatar 2022, but its captain, Lionel Messi, will also try to put a losing streak behind him.
The truth is that, despite being the second-highest scorer in soccer history, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo, the “No. 10” is one of the two players who have missed the most penalty kicks in this tournament.
Leo’s losing streak that he could offset with another record
Both Messi and Ghanaian forward Asamoah Gyan share a record they wish they didn’t have: with two missed shots, they are the players who have missed the most penalties during regulation time or extra time in a World Cup match (not counting penalty shootouts).
For Gyan, his first missed penalty came in the 2006 tournament in Germany. Ghana faced the Czech Republic in the group stage, and during the second half of the match, after the penalty was awarded, Asamoah took his shot and scored. However, he did so before the referee gave the signal, so the kick had to be retaken, and that’s when the ball hit the post and didn’t go in.
Four years later, at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, came his second and most heartbreaking missed penalty. In the quarterfinals against Uruguay, striker Luis Suárez handled the ball in the final minute of extra time, awarding Ghana a penalty. Gyan took the kick, but the ball hit the crossbar, shattering Africa’s dreams of reaching the semifinals for the first time.
For his part, Lionel Messi missed his first penalty in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, in the 1-1 draw against Iceland. His shot was saved by goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson.
In the next World Cup, despite winning the title, he missed his second penalty, also in a group stage match. Against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny stopped Leo’s shot, though the match ended 2-0 in favor of the Albiceleste.
Despite this, if Lionel decides to play in his sixth World Cup and misses another penalty, he could stand alone with this record since Gyan retired from soccer in 2023, but he could also go in search of another scoring record.
Miroslav Klose is the tournament’s all-time leading scorer, with 16 goals for Germany (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014). Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario is behind him with 15 goals (1998, 2002, and 2006), followed by Gerd Müller with 14 goals (all in 1958). In fourth place is Lionel with 13 goals, tied with France’s Just Fontaine. This means that by the 2026 World Cup, Leo would be just three goals away from breaking Klose’s historic record.
In the meantime, we’ll just have to wait and see if Leo plays in his sixth World Cup and what records will bear his name.
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