For all his talent, Messi – who turns 39 on Wednesday – is surprisingly poor from the penalty spot by his standards.
He also saw his spot-kick saved by Wojciech Szczesny in a 2–0 win over Poland at the 2022 World Cup, where Argentina became champions, and missed the 2018 tournament.
Messi, who now plays for Inter Miami in MLS, did not commit to playing in his sixth World Cup until late.
He also came into the tournament under the cloud of a minor injury to his hamstring.
But he quickly erased any doubts by scoring a hat-trick to help Argentina beat Algeria 3–0 in Argentina’s opening match.
After dodging a penalty, Messi scored on a rampage at home to the Dallas Cowboys on 38 minutes.
Argentina failed to really get it going in the second half.