Messi equals penalty miss tally of Africa’s record goalscorer at World Cup

Argentine international Lionel Messi has equaled a record by Asamoah Gyan at the World Cup.

Football record outfit, Opta Jose, noted on Wednesday, November 30; that Messi has missed two of his three penalty kicks at the World Cup.

It adds that the record equals that of former Black Star skipper, Asamoah Gyan who has missed two out of four spot kicks he has taken at the World Cup.

Messi’s most recent miss was in Argentina’s match against Mexico at the ongoing Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Gyan’s last miss is perhaps one of the most remembered misses in World Cup history, when in 2010 he missed a kick that would have put Ghana into the semi-finals of the World Cup, a first for Africa.

The miss came against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, 12 years on Ghana faces Uruguay at the World Cup with a final Group H fixture in which both sides must win to boost chances of progressing to the Round-of-16.