It was once again Lionel Messi (39, Inter Miami) who pulled defending champion Argentina out of the abyss of a round-of-16 exit. But the savior Messi also left Argentina with one major worry: a penalty-kick anxiety unbecoming of the "god of football."
Messi stepped up as penalty taker in the 21st minute of the first half, with Argentina trailing 0-1, in the round-of-16 match against Egypt at the North American World Cup on Monday (Korea time). It was a precious chance to equalize, but his left-footed shot toward the right side of the goal was stopped by a goalkeeper save. The kick was not particularly powerful and flew at an awkward height.
Messi, who had bowed his head after the miss, made up for the mistake with a goal and an assist. In the 34th minute of the second half, he assisted Cristian Romero's header that narrowed the gap to 1-2 with a "delivery cross," then four minutes later scored a dramatic equalizer to make it 2-2.
Messi, who led the effort to overturn a match that had looked lost at 0-2 into a 3-2 win, shed tears of relief after the game and said, "I did not want today to be the end, nor did I want to go home."
Messi broke his own records for career World Cup goals (21), career attacking points (30), most consecutive matches with a goal (nine matches), and most matches scored in (16 matches).
But his anxiety over penalties remains a lingering task. It was his second miss, following the group-stage second match against Austria. On that occasion too, Messi recorded a brace after the miss, driving the team to a 2-0 victory. Messi has now earned the dishonor of being the first player ever to miss two penalties in a single World Cup. His career World Cup penalty success rate stands at just 50 percent, having missed four of eight attempts.
In a tournament where a single mistake can immediately lead to elimination, repeating such shaky moments inevitably puts pressure on the entire team. Reflecting on the moment of his miss, Messi said, "The way I took the penalty itself weighed on me. I felt I had let the team down at a crucial moment."
Only three games remain until the title. The contests will grow rougher, and the likelihood of dire situations such as penalties, and even penalty shootouts, will only increase. Whether to continue using Messi as the designated taker is a question that is deepening for Argentina.
