Why Lionel Messi takes penalties for Argentina over Enzo Fernandez despite recent misses
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Why Lionel Messi takes penalties for Argentina over Enzo Fernandez despite recent misses originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lionel Messi is struggling on his penalty kicks at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Despite that, he continues to be given the ball to take the penalties for Argentina, and that seems highly unlikely to change.
It does raise questions about his historical record from the penalty spot, though.
It also causes you to wonder whether anyone else -- like Enzo Fernandez -- could be given a shot at the spot.
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Why does Lionel Messi take penalties for Argentina?
The short answer is that he might be the greatest player of all time, with the kind of precision and skill that would make Messi the penalty taker for any team he played on.
In his career, he has made 116 penalties and now missed 34.
He is only 4-for-8 on penalties in his World Cup career, though.
The reality is that an attacking legend of Messi's magnitude is always going to be given the right to take the penalties on this kind of stage.
It's still a surprise when he misses, regardless of the history.
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Could Enzo Fernandez take Argentina's penalties?
Of the players on the pitch for Argentina to start Tuesday's match with Egypt, Enzo Fernandez seems the most likely alternative.
The midfielder most recently of Chelsea is an experienced penalty taker.
In his career, Fernandez is 11-for-12 at the penalty spot.
Argentina is unlikely to pull Messi, but if they did, this might be the switch to make.