Lionel Messi has set an all-time unwanted record in FIFA World Cup history after he missed a penalty against Egypt in the round of 16 in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 7. Messi, the all-time top-scorer in all FIFA World Cups, missed one from the spot in the 21st minute afterย Yasser Ibrahim stunned the defending champions to take Egypt 1-0 up.ย
The 39-year-old Argentine talisman went to his right from the 12-yard distance, with the Egyptian goalkeeperย Mostafa Shobeir going the right way and stopping the strike. The fans were shocked to see Messi miss the second penalty in the World Cup and his fourth in all World Cups. Meanwhile, Messi has now become the first-ever player to miss two penalties in a single World Cup edition. He has now missed four penalties, extending his record for most misses at the global showpiece. He overtookย Ghanaโs Asamoah Gyan (2) when he missed one against Austria in the group stage.
Messi is the joint leading goal-scorer at this World Cup with seven strikes so far as he is in a race for the Golden Boot. The Argentine legend has 20 goals in the tournament’s history, having shattered the all-time record of Miroslav Klose earlier in the group stage in that same Austria game.ย
He scored a hat-trick in the opener against Algeria before netting twice against Austria despite having missed the penalty, and then scored once in the last league outing against Jordan in their final group outing. Messi opened the scoring sheets in the round of 32 clash against Cabo Verde in the team’s close 3-2 win over the minnows.
No one is clear favourite: Scaloni ahead of Egypt clash
Meanwhile, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had admitted not taking Egypt lightly as this World Cup has been a story of underdogs.ย “I think this World Cup is very tricky for everyone; it seems there โis no clear favourite,” Scaloni told the media on Monday. “There are no national teams that, as โwe used to see before the World Cup, were clear favourites. The conditions are also very different from what we had seen in prior editions. “And I understand that most players have played a great deal of matches, and that is a lot of โgames on the legs. And that is why maybe the level is not the one we are used โto seeing.
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