Messi misses penalty, misses chance to be World Cups' top scorer

Lionel Messi missed a golden chance to pull ahead as the top scorer in World Cup history.

The Argentine legend had a penalty at his disposal early in the match against Austria and sent the ball wide.

He took the field tied with Miroslav Klose at the top of the tournament’s all-time scoring chart, with 16 goals each.

When the referee awarded the penalty, everything seemed set for Messi to surpass the German.

And when the shot went wide, the reaction on social media was one of surprise. But some also pointed to his not-so-great track record from the spot.

Curiously, the last penalty missed by Argentina in a World Cup match came in 1990, taken by none other than Diego Armando Maradona.

Messi also became the player with the most penalties missed in World Cup history. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.