Argentina Weighs Penalty Duty Change as Messi’s Spot-Kick Form Wavers

Lionel Messi has shouldered the responsibility from the penalty spot in World Cup finals, Copa América finals, and Champions League knockout ties. He has taken Argentina’s opening kick in nine shootouts, converting seven, with his only previous misses coming against Chile in the 2016 Copa América final and Ecuador in the 2024 quarter-final.

That track record explains why Lionel Scaloni has shown no inclination to alter the hierarchy. Asked on the eve of Argentina’s quarter-final against Switzerland whether Messi should remain the designated taker, the coach was unequivocal. “First of all, Leo will take penalties if he wants to,” Scaloni said. “We have other players capable of taking them, but if he wants to take them, he’ll take them.”

It is worth recalling that Messi’s most prolific tournament from the spot arrived only four years ago. At Qatar 2022, he converted six of seven penalties, including the opening kicks in the shootouts against the Netherlands and France that propelled Argentina to the World Cup title.

The current campaign has told a different story. The misses have returned, and while Argentina have survived both occasions, the debate is unlikely to dissipate. No team has been awarded more penalties across the last two World Cups than Argentina; they have received eight since 2022—double the tally of any other side—including a record five during their victorious campaign and three already in the 2026 qualifying cycle.

With the margins certain to tighten, a third miss may not be so forgiving. That reality prompts an uncomfortable but necessary conversation: not about Messi’s standing among football’s immortals, but whether, for the remainder of this World Cup, the duty should fall to a teammate during regular play.

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