Lionel Messi said he cried after missing a penalty in the 21st minute against Egypt because he felt he had let his teammates down. Argentina still turned the match around, with late goals from Cristian Romero, Messi and Enzo Fernandez delivering the win.
The story is still being searched because it lands at the center of the Messi Goat debate at a moment when every detail around Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo gets pulled back into view. Messi is 39, Ronaldo is 41, and the contrast now runs through where they play as much as what they have won: Messi in MLS, Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr.
Messi did not hide what the miss meant to him. He said he cried because of the penalty and the way he took it, then added: “But thankfully once again, God had something special for me in the end. I’m very happy.” That line matters because it captures both the public pressure on him and the strange mercy of the night: the miss hurt, but it did not define the result. Argentina finished the job anyway.
For Messi, the numbers behind the rivalry explain why this moment keeps coming back. He has converted four of eight penalties at the World Cup, while Ronaldo has scored four of five. Messi also lifted the World Cup in 2022, a trophy Ronaldo still does not have, and that remains the sharpest argument for supporters who call him the better player.
There is still a path ahead for Argentina, and it is not a simple one. They face Switzerland in the quarter-finals. If they move on, England or Norway could be next in the semi-finals, and a further step would bring France, Spain, Morocco or Belgium in the final. That is the route that gives this old rivalry fresh oxygen, because each round offers another chance for Messi to add to the case that already has the World Cup sitting in his favor.
The friction is hard to miss. Messi was shaken enough by a missed penalty to cry, yet Argentina recovered and won anyway. That is the part supporters of both men will keep returning to: Ronaldo has the cleaner penalty record, but Messi has the World Cup, the comeback, and the habit of turning his worst moment into another line in the debate.
