Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

ATLANTA — Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick in the 20th minute of Argentina's World Cup Round of 16 match against Egypt on Tuesday, marking the second time this tournament the Argentine captain has failed to convert from the spot as Egypt took a 1-0 lead over the defending champions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Messi's missed penalty came during a tightly contested first half between Argentina and Egypt, a matchup that pitted Messi against Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah for the first time on the World Cup stage. The miss followed a similar incident earlier in the tournament, when Messi failed to convert a penalty against Austria in the group stage, a chance that would have made him the all-time leading goalscorer in men's World Cup history at the time. Messi later scored twice in that match to complete a brace and claim the record regardless, finishing the tournament's group stage with seven goals, a tally that currently ties him with Norway's Erling Haaland and France's Kylian Mbappe atop this year's Golden Boot standings.

Tuesday's miss extends a broader pattern in Messi's World Cup career. According to figures compiled after his earlier miss against Austria, Messi has now missed three penalties across his World Cup career outside of shootout situations, a total that continues to separate him from longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has missed just once in non-shootout penalty situations across his own World Cup career. Argentina as a national team has also become the country with the most missed non-shootout penalties in World Cup history.

Egypt entered Tuesday's match as one of the tournament's breakout stories, having reached the Round of 16 for the first time since 1934 after eliminating Australia on penalties in the previous round. Coach Hossam Hassan's side has leaned heavily on defensive organization throughout the tournament, a strategy that appeared to pay dividends early against Argentina as Egypt took the lead despite entering the match as significant underdogs according to most prediction markets and betting odds.

Argentina, chasing back-to-back World Cup titles for the first time since Brazil accomplished the feat in 1958 and 1962, entered Tuesday's match unbeaten through five matches this tournament, though the team had needed extra time to overcome Cape Verde in the Round of 32 following a collapse of an early two-goal lead. Coach Lionel Scaloni's side had been considered heavy favorites heading into the Egypt matchup, with betting markets pricing Argentina's moneyline around 1.35, reflecting expectations of a comfortable win.

With Messi's missed penalty and Egypt's early goal, Tuesday's match took on an unexpectedly tense complexion for the tournament's reigning champions. The winner of the contest is set to advance to face the winner of Tuesday's separate Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Colombia in a quarterfinal matchup scheduled for Saturday, July 11, in Kansas City, with the outcome of the Argentina-Egypt tie still to be determined as play continued Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta.

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