Argentina forward Lionel Messi became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to miss two penalties at a single tournament edition during a last-16 match against Egypt on Tuesday.
The milestone occurred after Egypt took a 1-0 lead through a goal from Yasser Ibrahim.
Argentina had a chance to respond three minutes later when Haissem Hassan fouled Nicolas Tagliafico in the penalty area.
The 39-year-old attacker saw his spot-kick stopped by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who dived to his left to deflect the attempt away.
Messi previously failed to convert a penalty during Argentina's 2-0 group-stage victory over Austria earlier in the tournament.
The failure marks Messi's 34th missed penalty out of 150 total career attempts for club and country across three decades, leaving him with 116 successful conversions.
Out of eight total World Cup penalties taken by the Inter Miami player, excluding penalty shoot-outs, only four have resulted in goals, making him the sole player to miss a spot-kick across three different World Cup editions.
Pundits React to Messi's Penalty Woes
"That's incredible," said ITV commentator Ally McCoist. "He actually didn't look really confident.
I can't believe I'm saying that about one of the greatest players on earth."
McCoist noted that the player seemed to doubt his own chances despite his status as one of football's top competitors.
"I'm not sure he believed it himself. It's a good save but it's a comfortable one," said McCoist.
The punditry team evaluated Messi's historically low conversion rate from the penalty spot during the halftime broadcast. "We didn't fancy him," said ITV pundit Roy Keane.
"His record is not great."
Keane expressed surprise at the apparent hesitation shown by the prominent international forward during the crucial knockout stage fixture.
"For a great player like Messi, almost lacking that belief in himself. It's amazing!"
said Keane.
The panel discussed whether the management team should transition penalty-taking responsibilities to another member of the squad given the statistical weakness.
"They're impossible, these players of that stature, to be able to communicate with around stuff like this," said ITV pundit Gary Neville.
Neville indicated that challenging elite players on fixed roles remains difficult for coaching staff. "They want every penalty.
They want every free-kick," said Neville.
