Messi's penalty dilemma: Should Argentina stick with their captain?

Questioning Lionel Messi's place as Argentina's penalty taker may sound almost unthinkable. Yet, ahead of World Cup quarter-final against Switzerland, it is a legitimate question: if Argentina are awarded a penalty, will Messi be the one to take it?

The doubt stems from Messi himself. At this World Cup, he has taken two penalties—and failed to score from either.

Just imagine if those two spot-kicks had gone in. Argentina might not have found themselves on the brink against Egypt, nor come under sustained pressure against Austria. Messi would also be leading the Golden Boot race outright with ten goals, instead of sharing the top spot with Kylian Mbappe.

So, if Argentina win another penalty against Switzerland, will Messi step up again? Or could someone else take responsibility? Finding an alternative, however, is not straightforward. After all, this Argentina side still revolves around its captain.

One statistic illustrates why replacing him would be difficult. In Argentina's most recent match, despite missing a penalty, Messi still scored and provided an assist. It was the fifth time he had achieved that feat at a World Cup.

Since 1966, no other player has managed it more than three times. In the same match, he also extended his remarkable records by scoring in nine consecutive World Cup matches and six straight knockout games.

With achievements like those, asking Messi to give up penalty duties is hardly an easy decision.

It is also worth looking at Argentina's other penalty takers. Besides Messi, who else has the credentials?

Across club and international football, Messi has taken 148 penalties, converting 114 of them—a success rate of 77 per cent. But surprisingly, several of his teammates boast better conversion rates.

By percentage, five Argentina players outperform Messi from the spot. Leandro Paredes has the best record, converting 92.9 per cent of his penalties.

Alexis Mac Allister follows with a 91.7 per cent success rate, while Enzo Fernández has an identical percentage. Julian Alvarez has converted 89.4 per cent of his penalties, and even Nico Gonzalez's success rate of 82.04 per cent is higher than Messi's.

Does that automatically make them better penalty takers than Messi? Not necessarily.

The numbers lack important context. None of those players has taken anywhere near as many penalties as Messi. In fact, no Argentine player with at least 10 successful penalties has attempted even a tiny fraction of Messi's total. After Messi, the highest number of penalties taken by a current Argentina player belongs to Lautaro Martinez—with just 27.

Ultimately, the more penalties a player takes, the more likely he is to miss some. That reality may be enough for Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni to keep placing his trust in Messi when the next big moment arrives.