Messi sets unwanted World Cup penalty record before making history

Lionel Messi's World Cup journey continues to be a story of records, triumphs and the occasional reminder that even the greatest can make mistakes.

Against Austria, the Argentina captain became the outright top scorer in FIFA World Cup history with 17 goals, moving ahead of Germany's Miroslav Klose, who previously held the record with 16. The goal was started and finished by Lionel Messi.

Ironically, the same match also saw Messi add to another World Cup record. Excluding penalty shootouts, he has now both scored the most penalties (7) and missed the most penalties (3) in tournament history after seeing his spot kick gone past the keeper. It was a weak penalty.

Messi's World Cup penalty record

Missed vs Iceland (2018)
Scored vs Saudi Arabia (2022)
Missed vs Poland (2022)
Scored vs Netherlands (2022)
Scored vs Croatia (2022)
Scored vs France (2022)
Missed vs Austria (2026)

Most goals in FIFA World Cup history

17 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
16 – Miroslav Klose (Germany)
15 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
14 – Kylian Mbappé (France)
14 – Gerd Müller (Germany)
13 – Just Fontaine (France)
12 – Pele (Brazil)

It was another reminder that even the greatest players are not perfect, yet they continue to achieve extraordinary things. It's been a privilege to watch Lionel Messi play football. The little genius is simply out of this world.