The match appeared to have started promisingly for Argentina against Austria in Matchday 2 of Group J at the 2026 FIFA World Cup; however, a clear chance went the Europeans’ way. Lionel Messi had the opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot but missed, becoming the first player in the competition to do so.
Just a handful of minutes into the first half, Lautaro Martinez was brought down in the box by two Austrian defenders. After a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty to Argentina.
After a brief exchange of words from the Austrian goalkeeper, Lionel Messi struck the ball toward the left side of the goal, but it went wide. In this way, the first missed penalty of the World Cup was recorded.
Following this incident, Lionel Messi has now missed three penalties in World Cup history, moving further away from Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star, meanwhile, has only missed once.
Penalties at the 2026 World Cup so far
Through the end of Matchday 1 and part of Matchday 2, seven penalties have been awarded since the start of the World Cup. Six of them have been converted, while Messi missed his.
- Breel Embolo (Switzerland) vs Qatar
- Kai Haverz (Germany) vs Curacao
- Marko Artaunovic (Austria) vs Jordan
- Harry Kane (England) vs Croatia
- Lukas Sadilek (Czech Republic) vs South Africa
- Granit Xhaka (Switzerland) vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Negative update for Argentina
Argentina, with five, have become the national team with the most missed penalties (excluding shootouts) in the entire history of the World Cup. It is followed by Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Poland, Italy, and Ghana, all with three.
