Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny saved a penalty kick from Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. However, this is not the first time the Argentina star missed a penalty in a FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi and Argentina face a crucial match for their World Cup aspirations against Poland. La Albiceleste need all three points to qualify for the 2022 Qatar Round of 16, but Poland are making things difficult.
In a controversial VAR review, La Albiceleste were awarded a penalty that could have paved the way for them to the next stage. But things did not develop as one might have expected and the result remained unchanged.
Wojciech Szczęsny came up with a heroic moment for his nation when he denied Messi’s penalty to keep things level. It might surprise some, but it wasn’t the first time Messi missed a spot-kick at the World Cup.
How many penalties has Messi missed at World Cups
Lionel Messi has missed two penalties at different World Cups. Before being denied by Szczęsny, the Argentine star had also missed against Iceland in Russia 2018. That day, Hannes Þór Halldórsson made big headlines for saving a spot-kick from the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.