Should Argentina take Lionel Messi off penalties? Julian Alvarez and the other men to end Leo's penalty woe
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Should Argentina take Lionel Messi off penalties? Julian Alvarez and the other men to end Leo's penalty woe originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Nobody's perfect, but for a man who touches perfection with almost everything else he does on a soccer field, Lionel Messi's penalty record is downright weird.
From the situation on the pitch when the deck is always stacked in favour of the player trying to score, Messi seldom looks more vulnerable.
The 39-year-old has enjoyed a majestic sixth World Cup, racing to eight goals in five matches ahead of Argentina's quarterfinal against Switzerland. Messi is now the all-time top scorer in World Cups with 21 overall and could even challenge Just Fontaine's long-standing single tournament record of 13, set back in 1958.
Indeed, Messi would have a very strong chance of overhauling the Frenchman if he hadn't gone 0/2 from the penalty spot in the United States. He shot tamely wide against Austria in the group stage before Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir saved from him in the Round of 16.
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Messi went on to score twice against Austria and smashed home a brilliant equaliser in the breathless 3-2 comeback against Egypt. So it hasn't cost Argentina, but it might.
At this stage, it's worth asking whether it's really in the interests of Lionel Scaloni and his players to let this continue.
Lionel Messi career penalty record
- Career penalties: 148
- Penalties scored: 114
- Penalties missed: 34
- Conversion rate: 77%
Messi's back-to-back failures at the 2026 World Cup took his career conversion rate down to 78.12%. For context, Opta ranks a penalty as a 0.79 xG chance, meaning there is an expectation that 79% of penalties are scored.
As such, Messi is statistically a little worse than a bang average penalty taker, having scored and failed for all of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Lionel Messi penalties for Argentina
- Taken: 32
- Scored: 25
- Missed: 7
- Conversion rate: 78.12%
While plenty of soccer fans have been shocked by Messi's recent misses, they are actually entirely in line with his career record, with his Argentina conversion rate in the same ballpark as his overall career numbers.
He did score four times from the spot en route to glory at the 2022 World Cup, as well as in both of Argentina's shootout wins over the Netherlands and Argentina.
Kicks taken in penalty shootouts are not included in the above numbers, but Messi has scored seven out of nine for his country under such conditions. His misses both came in the Copa America – against Ecuador in the 2024 quarterfinal, where Argentina prevailed and went on to win the tournament and, most devastatingly, in the 2016 final when Chile claimed the trophy.
Messi is unquestionably Argentina's main man. How could he not be? But there are other fine players in the Albiceleste ranks who take plenty of penalties in club football. Let's have a look at some of the candidates to lessen the load on Leo.
Who could take Argentina's penalties off Lionel Messi?
Julian Alvarez
- Career penalties: 19
- Penalties scored: 17
- Penalties missed: 2
- Conversion rate: 89.47%
The leading candidate. Messi's forward partner Alvarez tends to hit them hard and true and has been entrusted with spot-kick duties by River Plate, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid on big stages.
As an aside, Alvarez has also prompted a change in soccer's penalty rules. During a Champions League shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 in the 2024/25 season, Alvarez slipped as he slammed a penalty past Thibaut Courtois. A video review ruled this had resulted in a double touch of the ball, meaning the goal did not stand. In the aftermath, soccer's global law-making body, IFAB, changed its guidance so that a penalty scored from an accidentally double touch is now retaken rather than counting as a miss.
Alexis Mac Allister
- Career penalties: 13
- Penalties scored: 12
- Penalties missed: 1
- Conversion rate: 92.3%
Mac Allister has a superb conversion rate, albeit from a fairly small sample size. He was Brighton and Hove Albion's main penalty taker in the Premier League and took on duties on occasions in Mohamed Salah's absence at Liverpool. However, he has not taken a competitive penalty for more than two years.
Leandro Paredes
- Career penalties: 16
- Penalties scored: 15
- Penalties missed: 1
- Conversion rate: 93.75%
Experienced midfielder Parades has the best conversion rate on this list and has even scored a couple for Argentina, in international friendly wins over Mexico and Ecuador in 2019. However, his only miss as a professional came for the national team during a 2-0 win over Peru at the most recent Copa America.
Enzo Fernandez
- Career penalties: 12
- Penalties scored: 11
- Penalties missed: 1
- Conversion rate: 91.6%
Fernandez, who showed he has clutch moments in his locker with the stoppage-time winner against Egypt, is another candidate with a fine penalty record. A regular taker for both River Plate and Chelsea, it speaks volumes that he has netted six in succession since missing his first penalty for the Premier League club against West Ham in August 2023.
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Lautaro Martinez
- Career penalties: 28
- Penalties scored: 19
- Penalties missed: 11
- Conversion rate: 67.85%
You'd think Argentina's most reliable goalscorer aside from Messi might be a good bet on penalties. Think again. For a striker of such renown, Lautaro has a truly wretched record and misses roughly one of every three he takes.