Argentina probably should have defeated Iceland in its World Cup Group D opener. Lionel Messi had a chance to give his team the lead from the penalty spot in the 64th minute, but instead...
Argentina has a better penalty taker than Lionel Messi hiding in its lineup
Does Jorge Sampaoli have the guts to put his best penalty taker on penalty duty?
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
...yikes. Hannes Þór Halldórsson made a nice save, for sure, but you’d expect a player of Messi’s caliber to pick out one of the corners. But as it turns out, he’s not that great at penalties, both short-term and over his entire career.
The Ronaldo comparisons are irrelevant, though. Even though Messi and Ronaldo will never escape each other and we’ll get thrown in The Hague if we don’t present their stats side-by-side, they’re not particularly informative for Argentina manager Jorge Sampaoli. He can’t have Ronaldo take penalties for his team, because Ronaldo is Portuguese.
Sampaoli does, however, have a better penalty taker than Messi hiding in his starting lineup. Striker Sergio Aguero, who is the usual penalty taker for Manchester City, has a better record from the spot than his national team captain. Messi is 76.7 percent for his career on penalties, while Aguero has an 81.3 percent conversion rate. His recent conversion rate is right on his career pace too — he made five out of six penalties for City this season.
This is, of course, more than just a numbers problem. There could be some unintended consequences — both in the locker room and in Messi’s performance — if Argentina’s superstar is told that he’s getting taken off penalty duty. But if Sampaoli can be assured that it doesn’t affect Messi emotionally, Aguero should probably take the spot kicks.
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